Cephid soars as bio-detection play
By Mike Maynard, CBS MarketWatch.com
Last Update: 12:03 PM ET Oct. 9, 2001
SUNNYVALE, Calif. (CBS.MW) -- Cephid's "microdiagnostics" technology has broad applications in such areas as clinical research, food and environmental safety, and life sciences, but the company's stock continues to benefit from one application that's been in the news in no small measure in recent days -- biodefense.
Shares of Cephid (CPHD: news, chart, profile) mushroomed more than 60 percent Tuesday morning, building on momentum that's seen the stock more than quadruple since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington.
In midday action, the stock traded at $7.20, up 64 percent on the session.
Concerns about bioterrorism have risen in recent days as federal authorities investigate the death of a Florida man caused by inhalation anthrax, an extremely rare form of the disease that usually proves fatal.
Compounding these concerns, a co-worker of the dead man has since been found to have anthrax bacteria in his nostrils.
Since it can be used to detect infectious diseases, Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Cephid's technology had already been gaining acceptance in governmental circles before the anthrax case -- which may become the focal point of an FBI-led criminal investigation -- came to light.
Most recently, the company -- which made a presentation Monday at a UBS Warburg conference in New York -- clinched a deal with Baltimore-based Environmental Technologies Group to develop systems for detecting biological agents that can be used by emergency preparedness and military personnel. Cephid also is working with the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases.
For Cephid, the key is its technologies for capturing and detecting DNA. The company has developed what it calls I-CORE, a module through which chemical reactions can be monitored, as well as cartridges to be used in extracting DNA from fluids.
Under its Aug. 13 agreement with Environmental Technologies, Cephid will be paid royalties by U.K.-based Smiths Aerospace (UK:SMIN: news, chart, profile) and a sister firm. Environmental Technologies, a Smiths subsidiary, will produce both stationary and handheld systems for determining the presence of biological agents.
Mike Maynard is a news editor for CBS MarketWatch.com in Washington. |
