PhillyInc

To that nagging question, "How do biotech startups with no earnings stay in business?", here's one answer: Pay your employees nothing. Of course, it's standard practice for owners of struggling small businesses and mom-and-pop companies to sometimes sit on their paychecks, rather than cash them, in order to afford paying the light bill. But publicly traded firms don't usually bend that far. New Life Scientific Inc. (OTC: NWLSE), of Princeton, said in an SEC filing today that it expects to stay in business only because it will not be required to pay salaries to officers and directors. It did pay $87,977 to its "team" of executives last year, which includes Henry Val, Eugene Zabolotsky, Wieslaw J. Bochenek and Peter Goodenow. But this year will be different. "Because we are not currently required to pay salaries to our officer/directors, management believes that we have the ability to continue operations through the foreseeable future. In the event additional funds are required to allow us to continue our operations, it is anticipated that these funds will be loaned to us by management, as it is doubtful that we will be able to obtain loans from any established financial institution." Oh, and by the way: "It is further anticipated that we will continue to incur expenses without corresponding revenues during the foreseeable future." The company's website says it develops and commercializes novel biotech/pharmaceutical products, vaccines and genetic treatment modalities. -- Jonathan Berr