Having watched my cash-poor biotech investments get crushed by dilutive offerings in the wake of the 2008 meltdown, my first reaction yesterday and today has been to review the cash situation of my 2 current favorites, NKTR & MNTA. NKTR's cash will last until mid-2012 at its current burn rate. It appears to me that MNTA's cash will last until early 2012, based on yesterday's 1Q numbers, as follows:
...........................................3/31........12/31
Cash and marketable
securities........................$ 81,719....$ 95,650
Current liabilities................$ 12,589....$ 16,340
Other liabilities...................... 7,019....... 7,949
If you take into account the reduction in current liabilities, MNTA is burning cash at about $11M/Q, which gives it more than 7 Qs of cash, assuming no deals or FDA approval. The $11M/Q is consistent with Dew's cash burn report after the 12/31 numbers were released. It seems to me MNTA has enough cushion to enable it to get to FDA approval, even in a worst case scenario. I will think about adding more MNTA over the weekend. The price has gotten attractive. FWIW, I've altready added to my NKTR position.