May 5, 2005 Stocks lost their self-confidence halfway through today’s session, after S&P conferred junk status on the credit of GM and Ford, an event that had to be the most widely anticipated surprise so far this year. The news was sufficient to push the Centient Biotech 200 slightly lower, giving the index its first loss in a week. The CBT 200 was off a little more than 10 points at 3248.72, a .32% decline. Eyetech reported good data from a test of Macugen for an add-on indication, Cephalon said its drug for chronic cancer pain did well in a Phase III trial, GlaxoSmithKline won FDA approval of Requip for restless leg syndrome, BioMarin got a wider license for the active ingredient in Phenoptin, Avidia has a novel monoclonal antibody that won additional VC funding for the company, Bentley moved up after reporting suprisingly good Q1 numbers, and Dendreon promised Phase III data for Provenge, its prostate cancer vaccine, at the ASCO meeting which begins late next week. More details...
