January 9, 2006 – Against the backdrop of the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco, biotech had an extremely heavy news day. Celgene said interim data from a Thalidomid trial showed a dramatic increase in survival in multiple myeloma patients; a new multiple sclerosis drug from Biogen Idec produced a significant reduction in brain lesions; Idenix Pharma announced positive 4-week data from a Phase IIb trial that used valopicitabine plus interferon as a therapy for Hepatitis C; Vertex Pharma also announced positive data for its Hepatitis C drug; Alkermes agreed to develop an inhaled form of an osteoporosis drug from Lilly; an osteoporosis drug from Roche and GlaxoSmithKline received FDA approval; Bristol-Myers Squibb and its partner Gilead Sciences said their once-a-day HIV pill that combines two existing drugs acheived bioequivalence; Human Genome Sciences licensed the use of a human gene it discovered to Amgen; and Boston Scientific followed up its $72 bid for Guidant by announcing that Abbott Labs would buy Guidant’s vascular intervention business for $4.3 billion. The positive news pushed biotech to a 43 point gain. The Centient Biotech 200™ closed at 4073.59, a rise of 1.08%. More details...
