In the midst of a tough IPO market, privately held TorreyPines Therapeutics has chosen to enter into what is essentially a reverse merger with publicly traded Axonyx. For TorreyPines, the merger provides a relatively quick means of gaining a Nasdaq listing without having to test market receptivity, and of strengthening its balance sheet through access to sizeable cash reserves. For Axonyx - more or less a shell company - the agreement ends an exploration of options open to it following disappointing Phase III trial results with its Alzheimer's drug phenserine. This feature considers the benefits of such an approach - one that an increasing number of biotechs have chosen to adopt.