How Much for That Money in the Window?

Cambridge Antibody Technology PLC's January £55 million share-for-share offer for Drug Royalty demonstrates not only CAT's growth in the last decade but also a willingness by biotech companies to indulge in a little creative financing. The move will help CAT reduce its cash burn and ratchet up its R&D spending at a time when the pace of more traditional methods of raising cash remains sluggish. And not least important, the deal illustrates how a transparent financing transaction to improve biotech P&L can be a straightforward alternative to today's obfuscating accounting practices which, in the current climate, look disturbingly Enronian.