Can you build a biotech company based on research alone?

Craig Rosen and a small group of research veterans at Human Genome Sciences are getting back to their research roots after splitting off to form CoGenesys. For Rosen and his partners, it's a chance to get back to doing the kind of work in molecular biology that first attracted him to the field. Analysts say that his choice is a common one for many in the field who aren't very motivated when it comes to running mature development outfits that are pushing therapies through clinical trials. As a result, Rosen ended up working a deal to take HGS' research operations and spin them off into CoGenesys after raising $55 million from investors. The fledgling company's strategy is to identify early-stage drug leads and then flip them over to bigger development outfits for the clinical stage. Rosen believes that with that focus on the research end of biotech, CoGenesys can be self-supporting in just a few years. That would qualify as a rare success story in a business that still spends more than it makes.

To learn more about CoGenesys:
- see this article in the Washington Post