December 26, 2005 -- With three strong mid-week sessions, biotech returned to its winning ways last week, snapping a three-week stretch of consolidation and missing an all-time weekly high by only a fairly minor twelve points. Last week, the Centient Biotech 200™ added on 51 points to end the week at 4009.73, a net rise of 1.30% for the five trading days. The index now stands 12.1% higher for year with only 4 trading sessions left. The breadth numbers reflect the increase in the index, showing the best strength in a month. The Centient Biotech Top 10™ also had a good week, rising 3.9%. Atherogenics was a standout performer this week, rising 26.3% after it signed a major, late-stage deal with AstraZeneca on its anti-inflammatory cardiovascular drug; Regeneron made a solid gain of 15.1% on the strength of an extended deal with Sanofi-Aventis; OSI Pharma moved 14.5% higher after the company granted a non-exclusive license for use of its DPIV patent portfolio to treat diabetes; and finally, the much-in-the-news BioCryst made a 14.1% advance on FDA approval to begin human testing of its investigational drug to treat the symptoms of flu. More details...
