Targeted Genetics Gets Recommended for up to $2.4 Million Government Grant

Targeted Genetics, the Seattle-based biotech company, said today it has been recommended for a grant worth as much as $2.4 million from the U.S. Department of Defense to develop a treatment for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig’s disease. Targeted Genetics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:TGEN]]) plans to develop a conventional small-molecule drug for animal tests against the disease. The cash provides a lift for Targeted, which had a first-quarter net loss of $3.4 million, and had $12.9 million in cash at the end of March.

Author: Luke Timmerman

Luke is an award-winning journalist specializing in life sciences. He has served as national biotechnology editor for Xconomy and national biotechnology reporter for Bloomberg News. Luke got started covering life sciences at The Seattle Times, where he was the lead reporter on an investigation of doctors who leaked confidential information about clinical trials to investors. The story won the Scripps Howard National Journalism Award and several other national prizes. Luke holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and during the 2005-2006 academic year, he was a Knight Science Journalism Fellow at MIT.