Biotech firm Biomira moving here

Biomira, a small biotechnology company based in Edmonton, Alberta, plans to reincorporate in the United States and move its headquarters to the Seattle area, officials said Wednesday.

The developer of cancer therapies believes relocating its executive offices to "a major biotechnology center" will raise its profile among potential investors and employees, President and CEO Robert Kirkman said on a conference call.

"We have a great story to tell, and we want to tell it from a higher pulpit," he said.

Biomira's lead product candidate is Stimuvax, a cancer vaccine currently in a Phase 3 clinical trial for non-small-cell lung cancer.

The company, which already trades on Nasdaq under the symbol BIOM, has a market capitalization of about $109 million at current prices. It posted a loss of $36.4 million last year and has never been profitable.

It shares fell 15 cents, or 13.9 percent, to 93 cents today after it announced the relocation plan.

The reincorporation, and a planned 6-to-1 reverse split of the company's stock, require shareholder approval.

The company had 82 employees as of Aug. 31, according to a regulatory filing, and Kirkman said the planned move won't disrupt its current Canadian work force.

But he added that "we have historically experienced substantial difficulty in attracting key management and scientific talent to Edmonton. ... As we build out our clinical development team," especially for small-molecule drugs, "we intend to do that in the Seattle area."

The company has a one-year lease on office space in Bellevue at 110 110th Ave. N.E., according to a regulatory filing.