PhillyInc

Biotech firms are well-known for churning along for years without a penny of profit. (Deep-pocket investors looking for a reliable loss?). But Philadelphia-based biotech Hemispherx Biopharma Inc. is surely a standout. In an SEC filing today, the developer of flu treatment Ampligen said it has not reported a profit in 20 years. Two full decades. It says: "We began operations in 1966 and last reported net profit from 1985 through 1987. Since 1987, we have incurred substantial operating losses, as we pursued our clinical trial effort to get our experimental drug, Ampligen, approved." As of March 31, the company said it accumulated deficit was more than $172 million. The SEC filing listed the sale of more than 13 million shares held by a major stockholder. (See past Inquirer stories on Hemispherx.) - Jonathan Berr