May 8, 2005 -- Biotech finally got off the dime last week. After three weeks of nearly zero net change (although the day-by-day changes were often large), biotech gained more than 2% last week. Granted, the volatility was still evident, with some days moving higher and some lower, but the up days were large and the down days were fairly inconsequential a mix that investors would like to get used to. For the week, the Centient Biotech 200 gained 2.13%. That put the index right between the S&P 500, which was 1.50% higher, and Nasdaq, which once again won the prize for impulsiveness, moving up 2.38%. At 3247.39, the CBT 200 is almost 68 points above its close from last Friday. Furthermore, it currently stands at 5.8% above the low of early April, and 13.6% below the highs of April a year ago. Many companies did well last week, including Viropharma, which was up 48% on Q1 results, Bentley, which rose 44% for the same reason, and Corixa, which gained 40% on a buy-out. Renovis doubled on good test results and Cotherix climbed 38% on initial sales of its lead product. More details...
