Genetic Engineering News Announces Investment Opinion
LARCHMONT, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 11, 1999--Investors who are bullish on Internet and other information technology companies should seriously consider investing in biotechnology stocks at this time, notes Genetic Engineering News (GEN) (www.genengnews.com).
According to the August issue, advances in computer and Internet technologies are enabling biotech companies to streamline their drug discovery programs and accelerate new product development, reports the August 1 issue of GEN.
''Internet and information technology investors should recognize the investment potential of biotech companies,'' says John Sterling, managing editor of GEN. ''While there is widespread perception, and certainly some truth to the fact that investor interest in biotechnology has suffered as investors became enamored of Internet company stocks, this same computer/Internet technology has led to the development of hardware systems and software programs that have changed the paradigm regarding the discovery and development of novel biopharmaceutical products.''
Robotics-driven high throughput drug screening systems and increasingly sophisticated bioinformatics software programs are just two examples of information technology products that are changing the way biotech research is carried out, notes Sterling. Indeed, some companies are melding information technology and systems to biotech drug discovery and development efforts.
Although the IPO market for biotech companies has been virtually non-existent, a number of computer technology-based firms involved in biotech are certainly worthy of IPO consideration. For example, Caliper Technologies (Mountain View, CA), which has an infotech orientation, is marketing its LabChip system, which combines microfluidics, microchip and informatics technology to create a desktop lab capable of running experiments using picoliters of reagents. The company expects to introduce a new system this fall that will reportedly handle 50,000 experiments per day.
Orchid Biocomputer (Princeton, NJ) is another company that has developed microfluidic platforms capable of miniaturizing experiments. One product line is able to synthesize several hundred compounds simultaneously while another can characterize and assess the purity of 99 samples in less than 30 minutes, according to the company. Nevertheless, the company's primary focus is pure biotechnology -- to become a key player in pharmacogenomics (the development of ''personalized'' medicines.)
GEN reports a number of biotech companies, that have taken advantages of breakthroughs in the Internet/computer technology arena, could be responsible for the next way of biotech product approvals. These firms include: Abgenix (Nasdaq:ABGX - news), Aviron (Nasdaq:AVIR - news), Biogen (Nasdaq:BGEN - news), Centocor (Nasdaq:CNTO - news), Coulter Pharmaceutical (Nasdaq:CLTR - news), DUSA Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq:DUSA - news), Pharmacyclics (Nasdaq:PCYC - news), Genentech (NYSE:DNA - news), QLT PhotoTherapeutics (Nasdaq:QLTI - news), LeukoSite (Nasdaq:LKST - news) and Immunex Corporation (Nasdaq:IMNX - news).
Genetic Engineering News is published 21 times a year by Mary Ann Liebert Inc. For a copy of the publication, please call 914/834-3100, ext. 623, or e-mail: ebicovny@liebertpub.com
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Contact:
Genetic Engineering News
John Sterling, 914/834-3880 |
