Advance Life keeps plugging in the lab; Hopes the money holds out while it works on a multitude of drugs, including a new antibiotic

Michael Moore's "Sicko" alleges that pharmaceutical companies aregouging America. Maybe some of them are.

But consider the gamble being made by small biotech developmentcompanies that are enduring years of steady losses until the momentthat -- perhaps -- they can perfect the magic pill or potion thatbecomes the next penicillin. The fact is that these companies andtheir shareholders -- not the giant pharmas -- are the folks takingmost of the risk on today's front lines of medicine.

To show you how much is wagered by fledgling labs and howsignificantly they're contributing to fighting disease, look atAdvanced Life Sciences in suburban Woodridge (Nasdaq: ADLS). …