BioCentury
ARTICLE | Strategy

Westward Ho

December 12, 2005 8:00 AM UTC

While Europe seems to have few problems creating new biotech companies, it finds it difficult hanging onto those that are most ambitious, as Immuno-Designed Molecules S.A., Microscience Ltd. and Hormos Medical Corp. all have shifted their centers of gravity across the Atlantic. Now, just when the U.K. thought it had a new future leader, raising substantial sums, signing a major pharma deal and unveiling key research data, it emerges that Domantis Ltd. has plans to become a U.S.-based company.

"Our plan is to keep our R&D facility in the U.K. with all the other functions in the U.S. and turn the company into a U.S. Inc. within four to six months," said Robert Connelly, CEO of the domain antibody (dAb) company. "We are in the process of building up our board with U.S. biopharma executives and will add senior people in financial, commercial and development roles in the U.S. We are gearing up for a U.S. IPO and intend to take advantage of talent and opportunities on both sides of the Atlantic."...