Securities Advisory: SEC Proposes Safe Harbor from Definition of Investment Company for Certain Research and Development Companies
1/15/2003
On November 26, 2002, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued proposed Rule 3a-8 under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the "Act"), designed to provide a non-exclusive safe harbor from the definition of investment company for certain bona fide research and development companies. The proposed rule would update and codify the analysis set forth in the SEC order issued to the ICOS Corporation in 1993. The proposed rule stems from a recent petition for rulemaking from the Biotechnology Industry Organization asking the SEC to update and clarify its interpretations relating to biotechnology companies under the Act.
