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Biotech / Medical : Biotech Valuation -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Icebrg who wrote (8371)	5/15/2003 4:20:09 PM
From: Biomaven	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 52153

Biotech stocks keep climbing Analysts credit FDA approvals for steady advance By Ted Griffith, CBS.MarketWatch.com Last Update: 3:08 PM ET May 15, 2003 NEW YORK (CBS.MW) -- Buoyed by regulatory approvals for new drugs, biotechnology stocks continued their recent winning streak and climbed to their highest level in 11 months on Thursday. it 11-month highs The Amex Biotechnology Index (BTK: news, chart, profile) increased 1.7 percent and the Nasdaq Biotechnology Index (NBI: news, chart, profile) added 1.6 percent in afternoon dealings. Both indexes are at levels not seen in nearly a year. Analysts said the Food and Drug Administration has helped fuel the gains with a series of product approvals, including Tuesday's OK of Millennium Pharmaceuticals' new anti-cancer drug, called Velcade. "I really believe we're seeing some signs of an FDA that is more efficient," said Mark Monane, a biotechnology analyst with Needham & Co. "You could even say it's a kindler, gentler FDA, and it's another sign that biotech is alive and well." After soaring Wednesday, shares of Millennium Pharmaceuticals (MLNM: news, chart, profile) were virtually flat Thursday, nudging up 1 cent to $14.40. Among the notable advancers, shares of Genzyme (GENZ: news, chart, profile) rose $1.33, or 3 percent, to $42.85, after earlier touching a new 52-week high of $43. Genzyme has won two FDA approvals recently for treatments for rare diseases. On Thursday, Genzyme and its smaller partner BioMarin Pharmaceutical announced their Aldurazyme drug, a therapy for the rare MPS-I disease, is now available to patients in the United States. Shares of BioMarin (BMRN: news, chart, profile) dipped 5 cents to $11.50. Aldurazyme was approved at the end of April. Genzyme also last month won approval for another drug, Fabrazyme, to treat the rare Fabry disease. Pharmaceutical stocks were higher as well. Shares of No. 1 drugmaker Pfizer (PFE: news, chart, profile) added 31 cents to $33.52 and shares of GlaxoSmithKline (GSK: news, chart, profile) traded up 39 cents to $42.39. The Amex Pharmaceutical Index ($DRG: news, chart, profile) rose 0.8 percent. Ted Griffith is a reporter for CBS.MarketWatch.com