Nexell Will Wind Down Its Operations

Nexell Therapeutics Inc. said its board authorized management to begin winding down operations, after a lengthy but unsuccessful effort to raise capital or form a business combination with another company.

The Irvine-based biotechnology company said its work force will be cut from 23 employees to three as a first step.

Nexell is considering such alternatives as liquidation, reorganization under the federal bankruptcy code or dissolution to effect the wind-down.

The company’s shares went into a nose dive in Nasdaq trading, falling 23 cents, or 66%, to 12 cents. The shares have traded below $1 since late March.

Nexell also reported a net loss of $500,000, or 3 cents a share, for the quarter ended March 31, compared with a loss of $7.8 million, or 39 cents, in the year-ago quarter, on a 37% drop in revenue to $3 million.

Nexell said the latest results were significantly affected by several one-time transactions and by the sale of its Toolbox business to Baxter Healthcare Corp. in August. The Toolbox business was Nexell’s only revenue producer.

Nexell’s auditor had included a going-concern doubt in the company’s results in the previous quarter, citing recurring losses from operations, negative cash flow from operations and the need for additional funding.

Nexell develops cell therapies and diagnostics for cancer and autoimmune, metabolic and genetic diseases.