BioCentury
ARTICLE | Finance

Ebb & Flow

September 9, 2002 7:00 AM UTC

After slipping 2% last week, the BioCentury 100 index shed 8% over the past two weeks, sucking a lot of air out of the biotech rally that began on July 12. The group remains up 5%, but it was up 14% for the six weeks ended Aug. 23. While it's easy to complain about the bear market, last week's NewsMakers in the Biotech Industry conference highlighted how much the industry has matured and the record attendance demonstrated that investors haven't lost interest even if they aren't yet ready to buy.

When BioCentury and The Carson Group (now TF/Carson) began the conference series nine years ago, a Phase III company was the exception rather than the rule, and finding a parking spot in mid-town was easier than finding a company with a marketed product. At last week's meeting in New York, 14 of the 36 companies had products on the market, and 31 (86%) had a product under review, or in Phase III or Phase II/III trials. Using the commonly held assumption that 50% of all compounds in Phase III trials ultimately get approved, last week's group should put 15 products on the market over the near term. ...