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Whether you're walking a tightrope or scribbling in your checkbook, balance is a good thing. And, one of the best ways to evaluate a company is to glance at its balance sheet to see what it owns with what it owes.
The balance sheet is a paragon of simplicity and is made up of three components: assets (the stuff it owns), liabilities (the money it owes), and shareholders' equity (the company's value to its shareholders).
Assets take two forms: short-term (or current) assets and long-term assets. Under short-term, there¿s good ol' hard cash. Then, there¿s something called "cash equivalents," which are assets like short-term bonds that can be sold so quickly, they might as well be cash. There you factor in inventory, which (if you're a reasonably competent business owner) you can sell to customers in return for--you guessed it--cash. (The raw materials a company owns to make that inventory also falls under this category.)
Long-term assets are things that are harder to convert into cash. (Think real estate and equipment.) Long-term assets depreciate, meaning they lose some value over time. Also under the long-term category are what's called intangible assets: things like patents and brands, that are important, but hard to quantify. Accountants earn their stripes figuring out the real overall value of these assets.
Once you know your assets, it's time for liabilities. As with assets, liabilities are separated into short-term or current, and long-term. Current liabilities are what a company owes in that year: Things like payments to employees or accounts payable to suppliers. Long-term liabilities are debts paid over several years.
Shareholders' equity is determined by subtracting the liabilities from the assets. That number represents the value of the company after all its bills are paid.
Obviously, investors should pay close attention to balance sheets. Spikes in the amount of debt carried, or a reduction in shareholders' equity, are usually red flags.
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Thursday, May 15, 2008
Carlos A. Parra Joins Alexza Pharmaceuticals as Vice President, Quality
Comtex
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., May 15, 2008 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX News Network/ ----Alexza Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: ALXA) announced today that Carlos A. Parra has joined the company as Vice President, Quality. He will have responsibilities in the development and execution of quality program strategies for Alexza's manufacturing operations and preclinical / clinical product candidates. Mr. Parra was most recently Vice President, Operations and Quality at Telik, Inc. in Palo Alto, California, where he was employed since June 2002 and was responsible for all aspects of GxP pharmaceutical development and quality operations, including manufacturing development and GCP compliance.
Prior to his tenure at Telik, Mr. Parra was a Principal Partner at West Coast Associates from January 1996 to June 2002. Before founding West Coast Associates, his quality experience spanned 20 years with both small and large pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. Mr. Parra holds a Bachelor's of Science in Microbiology with a minor in Engineering from the University of Texas at El Paso.
"We are very pleased to welcome Carlos to Alexza to lead our Quality Departments and as a member of our Management Team," said Thomas B. King, Alexza President and CEO. "The continued rapid growth of our clinical and preclinical programs at Alexza requires us to add integrated GLP and GCP quality systems and procedures to our existing GMP program. Carlos brings a wealth of U.S. and international quality expertise to Alexza, and we look forward to his contributions to our future development."
About Alexza Pharmaceuticals
Alexza Pharmaceuticals is an emerging specialty pharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of novel, proprietary products for the treatment of acute and intermittent conditions. The Company's technology, the Staccato(R) system, vaporizes unformulated drug to form a condensation aerosol that allows rapid systemic drug delivery through deep lung inhalation. The drug is quickly absorbed through the lungs into the bloodstream, providing speed of therapeutic onset that is comparable to intravenous administration, but with greater ease, patient comfort and convenience.
Alexza has six product candidates in clinical development. Alexza's lead program, AZ-004 (Staccato loxapine) for the treatment of acute agitation in schizophrenic or bipolar disorder patients, is in Phase 3 testing. AZ-001 (Staccato prochlorperazine) for the acute treatment of migraine headaches has completed Phase 2 testing. AZ-104 (Staccato loxapine) for the acute treatment of migraine headaches and AZ-002 (Staccato alprazolam) for the acute treatment of panic attacks associated with panic disorder are in Phase 2 testing. Product candidates in Phase 1 testing include AZ-003 (Staccato fentanyl) for the treatment of breakthrough pain, which is partnered with Endo Pharmaceuticals in North America, and AZ-007 (Staccato zaleplon) for the treatment of insomnia. More information, including this and past press releases from Alexza is available online at http://www.alexza.com.
SOURCE Alexza Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
http://www.alexza.com
Copyright (C) 2008 PR Newswire. All rights reserved
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