Biotech stocks move up
By Ted Griffith, CBS.MarketWatch.com
Last Update: 12:19 PM ET Oct 23, 2000 NewsWatch
Latest headlines
NEW YORK (CBS.MW) -- Led by the stock of Vertex Pharmaceuticals, biotechnology shares surged higher for the second straight trading session Monday.
The Amex Biotechnology Index ($BTK: news, msgs) rose 5.6 percent and the Nasdaq Biotechnology Index ($IXBT: news, msgs) added 3.9 percent.
Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX: news, msgs) shares surged after the Cambridge, Mass.-based biotech said Monday its partner, British pharmaceutical giant GlaxoWellcome (GLX: news, msgs), has received approval from the European Commission to market the HIV drug Agenerase in all 15 countries of the European Union. Agenerase was developed by Vertex.
Vertex also said Monday that it has added four new drug candidates to its pipeline of potential products. The drugs have the potential to treat viral infections, autoimmune diseases, cardiovascular disorders and inflammation, according to Vertex.
Shares of Vertex jumped $13.19, or 16.5 percent, to $92.94. GlaxoWellcome's American-listed shares rose $1.56 to $58.06.
Carolyn Pratt, an analyst with Needham & Co., said she was encouraged by Vertex's announcement about the additional product candidates.
"To me, it's great news because it shows Vertex is generating new product candidates to fill its pipeline," Pratt said. "It also shows that Vertex's drug-discovery approach is working."
As for the European approval of Agenerase, Pratt said she was not surprised by the clearance.
"It was expected," she said. "It was something the company had been hoping for."
Elsewhere, Aurora Biosciences' stock built on Friday's gains, climbing $3.39 to $55.38 Monday. Aurora Biosciences (ABSC: news, msgs) said Friday it has acquired Quorum Sciences Inc. for 81,300 shares of Aurora stock, worth $3.8 million based on Aurora's closing price of $47 Thursday. Privately held Quorum develops antibacterial agents. San Diego-based Aurora develops and sells drug-discovery technologies. |
