Ebb & Flow

If summer is the time for fishing, biotech investors will be encouraged to find more big-game fish in the larger tide pools: Between Dec. 31, 1999 and last Friday, the number of companies valued above $700 million - the threshold for getting into BioCentury's mid-tier group - has increased to 75 from 52. That growth is particularly helpful to non-core investors that can only invest in larger cap companies. A $700 million company still may be a challenge to get into and out of, but it's a lot easier than trying to get liquidity in a $250 million company.

A total of 24 companies that were publicly traded at the end of 1999 have made the jump to BioCentury's mid-tier group between $700 million and $3 billion. By contrast, only seven companies have be demoted into the lower-tier (see "Biotech's Tide Pools", below, and "Tier Jumpers", A12). ...