One of Thursday's hardest-hit stocks was Dendreon, maker of the prostate cancer vaccine Provenge, which plunged 67% after reporting disappointing results. But, weirdly, Debdreon's disease seemed to infect the entire sector, dragging down companies with proven drugs. Are biotechs bargains right now?
A secluded sector of biotechnology -- DNA sequencing and genetic analysis -- is hot once again on Wall Street. Leaders in the sector, like Ilumina, Life Technologies, and Human Genome Sciences, outscored most other biotechs last year.
The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday approved the first new drug to treat lupus in 56 years. It's not terribly effective: It only worked for 35% of the patients tested. But experts say the approval could prompt the development of more effective drugs.
Here's a roundup of some of Wednesday's major pharmaceutical news: An FDA panel gave Human Genome Sciences a boost with a thumbs-up for its lupus drug, Benlysta; Merck's experimental heart drug appears to work well without side effects; and Novartis announced its plans for long-term growth.
Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis announced Tuesday that it had discontinued the development of two drugs -- the hepatitis C treatment Zalbin, and antifungal agent Mycograb. The company will take impairment charges of approximately $590 million in third quarter of 2010.
