Dickensian winter disappears

OXFORD - London biotech stocks, like their U.S. counterparts, have seen massive price increases since mid-October, with BioCentury's London Index rising 132 percent over the period. Various fund managers see little evidence that biotech enthusiasm will slow down any time soon.

As in the U.S., internal and external factors appear to be driving the group. Andrew Musson of 3i Asset Management credits money moving from internet stocks, along with benevolent economic conditions in the U.K. and U.S. Andy Clark, portfolio manager with Finsbury Life Science Investment Trust, sees the value increase as a result of the U.K. sector moving towards maturity, with investors starting to see companies with products and sales. ...