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Genetic Engineering News Reports Bioinformatics Boom in Biotech Stocks
LARCHMONT, N.Y.--(BW HealthWire)--Nov. 30, 1999--Stock prices in bioinformatics companies have increased dramatically in 1999, reports Genetic Engineering News (GEN). A Bioinformatics Index that includes 14 publicly traded bioinformatics companies reveals gains in bioinformatics stocks of 301% by mid-October compared to the index's 52-week low, according to the November 15 issue of GEN.
"Bioinformatics companies appear to be biotechnology's answer to the tech stocks in the computer and microelectronics industries that have driven the stock market to record highs this year," says John Sterling, managing editor of GEN. "The use of computer databases to organize the huge amount of biological information obtained by sequencing the human genome will continue to be one of the critical activities in biotechnology as we enter the next millennium."
The top companies in the Bioinformatics Index were Affymetrix (Nasdaq: AFFX), up 487%; Aurora Biosciences (Nasdaq: ABSC), 331%; CuraGen (Nasdaq: CRGN), 303%; Human Genome Sciences (Nasdaq: HGSI), 330%; and Millennium Pharmaceutical (Nasdaq: MLNM), 522%. In comparison, also by mid-October, the Nasdaq Biotech index showed gains of 184% compared to its 52-week low; the Dow Jones US BIOTECH index was up 154%; the Nasdaq Composite gained 169%; and the S&P 500 rose 118%.
"Whether bioinformatics companies can continue to show these kinds of gains in their stock prices next year remains an open question," notes Sterling. "What is certain, however, is that scientific and technological advances will push bioinformatics development ahead at a very rapid rate as pharmaceutical and biotech firms accelerate their quest for new drug candidates."
The Bioinformatics Index includes public companies active in bioinformatics and excludes those with a primary focus on combinatorial chemistry. Other companies in the Index are Ariad Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: ARIA), Celera Genomics (NYSE: CRA), Gene Logic (Nasdaq: GLGC), Genome Therapeutics (Nasdaq: GENE), Genset (Nasdaq: GENXY), Hyseq (Nasdaq: HYSQ), Incyte Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: INCY), Myriad Genetics (Nasdaq: MYGN) and Visible Genetics (Nasdaq: VGIN).
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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