Two Westaim Units Are Making Progress

Article Excerpt

THE WESTAIM CORP. $5.23 (Toronto symbol WED; SI Rating: Speculative) now owns about 71% of subsidiary Nucryst Pharmaceuticals Corp., following its initial offering of Nucryst shares to the public in December 2005. Nucryst will use most of the funds it raised to develop its patented burn and wound dressings, which beat traditional treatments at preventing infection. However, this is a highly competitive field, and success is by no means certain. In addition, Nucryst will probably need to raise more money and this will dilute the interests of current investors. Westaim also plans an eventual public offering for another subsidiary, iFire Technology Corp. iFire has just built a facility where it will test the feasibility of its flat panel display technology. The company claims that its process produces sharper, clearer displays than current technologies, and can cut manufacturing costs by up to 40%. Westaim is still a hold for aggressive investors. investors…