Tengion Inc.’s struggle to stay afloat ended today when the Winston-Salem, N.C.-based regenerative-medicine company filed for voluntary chapter 7 bankruptcy protection, the Winston-Salem Journal reported today. The company said in a regulatory filing that a bankruptcy trustee will be appointed by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court and will be in charge of liquidating the company’s assets — namely its research for kidney and bladder regeneration. Tengion cut back drastically on expenses over the past three years, including eliminating 30 of its 52 jobs in November 2011. It was not clear how many full-time employees remained. The company warned in its third-quarter earnings report Nov. 14 that it had just $5.7 million remaining in cash, and funding options appeared increasingly limited.
