June 16, 2005 Is there something special about Thursdays? Once again, biotech interrupted a week of desultory trading with a solidly positive session on Thursday. Two weeks in a row is something less than a bankable trend, but still... Although broader markets also advanced, their gains were far outpaced by biotech. The Centient Biotech 200 was up a very strong 54 points at 3381.14, a rise of 1.62%. The S&P 500 moved .36% higher and Nasdaq climbed .69%. Pfizer offered an 85% premium to buy out Vicuron, Vical got a $12 million contract for DNA vaccines, Genentech will add $2 billion to its stock buyback fund, MedImmune reported good data for its inhaled flu vaccine, Alnylam strengthed its RNAi patents, Encysive will market Thelin in Europe, Par said Amoxicillin failed a Phase III trial, Wyeth won approval for an new antibotic, and Mylan Labs and Watson filed for approval of a patch that treats depression. More details...
