Will the Biotech Industry See Its Own Shadow at JPMorgan?
Podcast: January 4, 2010
The biotechnology industry is gearing up for the annual JPMorgan Healthcare conference, the key annual meeting that kicks off the New Year for the industry. Last year the dismal economy cast a long shadow at the normally upbeat conference, but much has changed since then. We spoke to the Adam Feueretein, Senior Columnist for TheStreet.com about how far the industry has come during the past year, what he’ll be looking for at this year’s conference and whether or not biotech executives will be in a celebratory mood once again. Read More Here
By The Numbers
Not with a Bang but a Whimper
Slow holiday week marked by one important deal outside biotech's normal range.
The last week of a turbulent year ended on a quiet note with a smattering of financings and one major deal. Bunge, a major supplier of raw materials and services to the biofuels industry, expanded its sugar and bioenergy business in Brazil. The global agribusiness company entered into a $1.5 billion stock swap to become the sole owner of Usina Moema Participaoes, a holding company that owns one sugarcane mill in Brazil and has ownership interests in five others. Read More Here
Biotech Industry Market Cap: $348.94 billion (unchanged for the week ending 12/31/09)
Performance of Select “Blue Chip” Biotechs |
|||
COMPANY |
MARKET CAP
($B) |
CHANGE IN
SHARE PRICE (%) |
|
Amgen | $57.26 | (1.36)% | |
Gilead | $38.94 | 0.59% | |
Celgene | $25.59 | (1.99)% | |
Genzyme | $13.01 | 1.72% | |
Biogen | $15.47 | 2.59% |
Biotech closes the year on upswing
There was light trading during a holiday shortened week. On the final day of 2009 the Dow Jones industrial average dipped slightly as a result of investors making adjustments to their portfolios. As a result, the Nasdaq composite index finished unchanged and the Dow was down a hair. The Burrill Biotech Select index performed well climbing 1 percent. Despite a tough start to the year biotech stocks have gained steadily to regain the value that they lost in the first quarter. Predictions for the sector are that 2010 will be a good year as investors bet on the fact that they will see big pharma go shopping for biotech companies to help them shore up their product portfolios.
INDEX |
12/31/08
|
12/23/09
|
12/31/09
|
% CHANGE (WEEK)
|
% CHANGE (YEAR)
|
Burrill Select | 300.33 | 309.27 | 312.47 | 1.03% | 4.04% |
Burrill Large Cap | 379.7 | 463.34 | 461.85 | (0.32)% | 21.64% |
Burrill Mid-Cap | 139.39 | 167.58 | 166.01 | (0.94)% | 19.10% |
Burrill Small Cap | 78.35 | 87.48 | 88.12 | 0.73% | 12.47% |
Burrill Genomics | 59.69 | 160.01 | 159.87 | (0.09)% | 167.83% |
Burrill AgBio | 127.72 | 157.35 | 157.47 | 0.08% | 23.29% |
Burrill BioGreenTech | 106.12 | 160.26 | 160.12 | (0.09)% | 50.89% |
Burrill Diagnostics | 138.3 | 149.09 | 147.96 | (0.76)% | 6.98% |
Burrill Personalized Medicine | 79.63 | 92.38 | 91.71 | (0.73)% | 15.17% |
Burrill Nutraceuticals | 369.24 | 522.80 | 523.16 | 0.07% | 41.69% |
NASDAQ | 1577.03 | 2269.64 | 2269.15 | (0.02)% | 43.89% |
DJIA | 8776.39 | 10466.44 | 10428.05 | (0.37)% | 18.82% |
Amex Biotech | 647.15 | 938.84 | 941.92 | 0.33% | 45.55% |
Amex Pharmaceutical | 272.84 | 311.28 | 309.21 | (0.66)% | 13.33% |
Gazing Into The Crystal Ball
G. Steven Burrill's Predictions for 2010.
This year saw a gradual recovery in the capital markets and G. Steven Burrill, CEO of the San Francisco-based life sciences merchant bank Burrill & Company says the worst of the global economic dislocation seems to be behind us. From their lows in March 2009, the markets have gained about 60 percent. Both the Dow Jones industrial average and the S&P 500 hit 13-month closing highs following Thanksgiving. As a prelude to the release of Biotech 2010-Life Sciences: Adapting for Success – the 24th edition of Burrill & Company’s annual report on the biotechnology industry (February 2010), the biotech visionary provides his predictions for what lies ahead for biotech in the new global financial environment. Read More Here
Pfizer Will Discontinue Late-Stage Cancer Drug
The weekly round-up of failed trials, missed targets and other business mishaps.
Pfizer said it is discontinuing its late-stage study of the cancer drug figitumumab (CP-751,871) as first-line treatment in patients with advanced non-adenocarcinoma non-small cell lung cancer because the study met predefined boundaries for early termination. An analysis by an independent Data Safety Monitoring Committee showed that the addition of figitumumab to paclitaxel pluscarboplatin would be unlikely to meet the primary endpoint of improving overall survival compared to paclitaxel plus carboplatin alone. Read More Here
IPO Queue is Growing
Biotech Companies lining up to go public in 2010.
In a sign that the biotech IPO window may be opening, four more companies this week have filed to go public. Codexis, based in Redwood City, California hopes to raise $100 million. The company is a leading provider of optimized biocatalysts for industrial and biopharmaceutical applications. Its products are used by pharmaceutical companies such as Merck, Pfizer and Dr Reddy's Laboratories, and by companies working to develop advanced biofuels with partners such as Royal Dutch Shell. Codexis is also developing biocatalysts to use in other bio-industrial markets, including green chemicals, carbon management, and water treatments. Read More Here
Big Bucks
A list of the largest life sciences financings of 2009.
Commentary: Healthcare Appendix
An up-close-and-personal interface with the American healthcare system.
In the debate over healthcare reform, I’ve often considered the old saw that “the plural of anecdote isn’t data.” Sure, but what is it? Having just had an up-close-and-personal interface with the American healthcare system – I have a suggestion: the plural of anecdote is ... reality. Read More Here
And, if you missed it in 2009, be sure to view:
A list of the largest life sciences financings of 2009.
The Burrill Report Podcast:
Listen to past shows you may have missed from 2009.
Video: The oddest of 2009
Some of the bizarre moments of the life sciences in the news.
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