Early-stage drugmakers face difficult decisions as public markets turn hostile. : As Genocea ran low on cash in 2018, investors offered the US biotech a lifeline that allowed it to shift focus from developing a vaccine for genital herpes to targeting cancer treatments. There was no such safety net in May, when another cash crunch forced the 16-year-old group to fold. “A year ago Genocea probably could have raised enough cash to stay afloat until it could finish trials on its personalised cancer medicines,” said Daina Graybosch, analyst at SVB Leerink. Now, however, “the world has changed for biotech companies”.