Genomica Gives Up the Ghost

Less than two months after Genomica announced a change in strategic direction, resulting from disappointing market penetration of its third-party enterprise bioinformatics software, the company agreed to be acquired by Exelixis for $110 million in stock--precisely the amount of cash it was sitting on, making the deal in essence a back-door follow-on offering for Exelixis. The acquirer is therefore getting Genomica's software and technology base for a song, a fact that speaks volumes about the sustainability of a software-based bioinformatics business.