March 13, 2005 For biotech last week, there was considerably more toil and trouble than bubble. Five years ago, at the apex of euphoria, Nasdaq made its legendary print of 5048. On Friday, it closed at 2041, after a slide of almost 24 points. Joining it this week, the Centient Biotech 200(TM) moved 1.74% lower, giving up 55.50 points to close at 3140.02. It is down 12.25% so far in 2005. It rests very close to the bottom of its range for the past year: a mere 1.05% higher than last August’s low, and a fairly huge 16.50% off the high point of last April. We discuss Elan’s snap-back rally, which made it the leading percentage gainer of the week, the deal struck by Avanir which moved its stock higher, the failed trial for Cell Therapeutics, the disappointing stock price of Santarus, and the IPO status of CombinatoRX. More details...
