More bad news today. Let’s get to it:

-Welcome to the Graveyard, baby! Apex Bioventures said it will have to dissolve itself because it can’t get a deal done in the time frame required by its Second Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation. Apex is what’s called a SPAC, or a specialty acquisition corporation. A SPAC has no assets and is essentially a publicly traded blank-check company designed to acquire other companies. Apex was run by Darrell Elliott (<—never heard of) who heads/headed up Isuma Strategies Inc., a strategic consulting firm for private equity. He’s also worked for MDS Capital and is, or has been, a director of companies like Agrisoma Biosciences, Aderis and Neuromed. Apex was slated to buy-out Dynogen last year, but I guess we all know how that turned out. [PR Newswire]

-This one was just a matter of time – weeks if not days. Almost 2 weeks after Cell Therapeutics (CTIC) sold its remaining stake in Zevalin, the company has gone ahead and shown Zevalin’s 34 reps the door. Severance-related expenses will be $125,000 to $190,000 for the first 20 employees, and $125,000 to $290,000 for the remaining 14. Wait!!! Is that PER EMPLOYEE or TOTAL?? Anyone? Gosh, not even a speech or anything from the company to thank the employees. That’s f-ed up man. [The Seattle Times]

-This one was also obviously coming. Illinois-based Northfield Laboratories has axed 13 workers. Northfield has a target FDA review date of April 30, 2009 for its Biologics License Application for its human hemoglobin-based oxygen carrier, PolyHeme. Even still, exhausted as it reaches the finish line, the company advised the City of Evanston, Illinois, the Village of Mount Prospect, Illinois and the Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity that unless additional funding for operations is obtained, the Company plans to effectuate a “plant closing” under the Illinois Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (“Illinois WARN”) and applicable regulations, which may result in the termination of employees at its main office and plant facilities in 60 days (around May 5, 2009). The end is near, boys. [Yahoo!Finance]

Image from IguanaBio

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