Biopure, the disgraced developer of a failed human blood substitute, is attempting a comeback. It’s a biotech resurrection that seems quixotic at best. Delusional might be more accurate, given the company’s previous immolation.
On Wednesday, Hemoglobin Oxygen Therapeutics filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission, seeking to raise $30 million through an initial public offering. The company name is new, but the blood substitute products it seeks to develop — Hemopure and Oxyglobin — originated with Biopure, which blew up in the mid-2000s and filed for bankruptcy in 2009.
Honestly, I love the idea, but not because I believe Hemoglobin Oxygen Therapeutics is going to turn out any better than Biopure. For me, this is more about nostalgia.
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