Times are not good for the biotech industry, a whole host of people are warning this week.

According to the European industry trade group, one in five small bio-tech firms could go to the wall this year. Interviews with industry figures conducted for the European Biopharmaceutical Enterprises group suggest that over 50 % of small and medium sized firms are under threat.

The major problem is that many of these companies are still in the early loss making stages of their development and credit is in short supply, says Reuters.

EBE president Carlo Incerti says one solution could be a bailout from the European Investment Bank. “This is not just about saving jobs in the short term, it’s about protecting Europe’s capacity to drive medical innovation,” he says (press release).

Things are no better in the US…

The Wall Street Journal says the recent round of mega-mergers in the pharmaceutical industry has sucked up a lot of the cash that could otherwise be invested in biotech. It notes:

Since November, 10 biotechs have declared bankruptcy, says Ellen Dadisman, a spokeswoman for the Biotechnology Industry Organization. Meanwhile, 120 of the 360 publicly traded biotechs have less than six months of cash left, compared with just 12 companies in that position a year ago, according to Burrill & Co., a venture-capital concern in San Francisco that follows the industry.

Maybe there’s some good news from Canada? Let’s have a look at The Ottawa Citizen’s interview with the head of BIOTECanada:

Peter Brenders has never seen it this bad. When the man who represents some of the enterprising companies in biotechnology looks at Canada’s private-sector research and development, the picture that emerges is bleak and demoralizing.

So to biotech workers looking for words of comfort, all that can be said at the moment is: be thankful you don’t work in the banking sector.