Tysabri Dominates Biotech News Again

March 31, 2005 Biotech had some rough sledding again today, with the Centient Biotech 200 slipping 48 points (1.52%) to 3122.65. That’s within shouting distance of its 52-week low of 3107. For the first quarter of 2005, the CBT 200 is down 12.5%. Part of the problem was overall market weakness. After all, Nasdaq dropped 8% during the period. But the rest of the problem may have been side-effects, prompting the dramatic recalls of promising drugs Vioxx last year and Tysabri in late February. The latter story dominated the news today, with the joint sponsors of the drug, Elan and Biogen Idec, down heavily following news that another death was linked to the drug, an event that may doom any chance for Tysabri to return to the market. Also in the news, Forest Labs got a not approvable letter for the use of Lexapro for Social Anxiety Disorder, Metabasis is proceeding with a Phase I test of a diabetes drug, despite side-effect problems, Schering-Plough won approval for a once-a-day asthma inhaler, and StemCells thinks the FDA will let its neural stem cell product start a Phase I trial. More details...