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Mix-Ansicht- Biotechs outperformen Nasdaq (jedoch mit negativem Vorzeichen...) - Hirscherl, 01.07.2002, 23:03
Biotechs outperformen Nasdaq (jedoch mit negativem Vorzeichen...)
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Alkermes leads drug stocks down
FTC, FDA decisions weigh on stocks
By Rex Crum, CBS.MarketWatch.com
NEW YORK (CBS.MW) - Most biotech and drug stocks fell Monday as
negative opinions from the Federal Trade Commission and the Food and
Drug Administration weighed on several companies.
The biggest loser was Alkermes (ALKS: news, chart, profile), which was down
66 percent, or $10.61 a share, to $5.38 in late trading as the company felt the
effects of an FDA non-approval letter sent to Johnson & Johnson (JNJ: news,
chart, profile).
The FDA turned down J&J's bid to bring to market an injectable version of the
company's schizophrenia drug treatment, Risperdal Consta. J&J was to have
used Alkermes' Medisorb drug-delivery technology with Risperdal Consta.
Merrill Lynch downgraded its rating on Alkermes from"neutral" to"reduce" due
to concerns that the FDA decision could hamper Alkermes' plans to acquire
privately held drugmaker Reliant Pharmaceuticals.
J&J shares were down 2.2 percent, or $1.13, at $51.14.
The Amex Pharmaceutical Index ($DRG: news, chart, profile) was down 2
percent, or 6.08 points at 300.95. Among other drug stocks, Merck (MRK: news,
chart, profile) was down nearly 3 percent at $49.25, Pfizer (PFE: news, chart,
profile) fell almost 2 percent to $34.42 and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK: news, chart,
profile) was off 1 percent at $42.67.
The Amex Biotech Index ($BTK: news, chart, profile) was down 5 percent, or
17.72 points, at 331.14. Revenue leader Amgen (AMGN: news, chart, profile)
was off 6 percent, or $2.50 a share, at $39.36; Biogen (BGEN: news, chart,
profile) shed 4.3 percent, or $1.78 a share, and fell to $39.65, and Idec
Pharmaceuticals (IDPH: news, chart, profile) lost 5.4 percent, or $1.90, to fall to $33.54 in late trading.
Shares of medical diagnostics company Digene (DIGE: news, chart, profile)
were down 10 percent at $10.51 late Monday after it called off its deal to be
bought by rival Cytyc (CYTC: news, chart, profile) due to FTC opposition to the
merger.
Cytyc planned to buy Digene in order to boost its own line of cancer screening
tests. Digene has the only test approved by the FDA for human papillomavirus
(HPV), the virus that is involved in most cervical cancers.
However, on June 24, the FTC voted to block the deal over antitrust concerns.
Cytyc shares were down 1 percent after Digene called off the merger.
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