Biotech bounce

The BioCentury 100 rebounded strongly on Monday, gaining 3.8 percent led by a 29 percent gain by Alza (AZA) on renewed rumors that Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) is considering acquiring the company. Advancing stocks led decliners 85-12 on the day. Other equity indexes were mixed: The NASDAQ Composite slipped 0.5 percent, while the Dow Jones Industrials added 1.9 percent. The BC100 had traded down 6 percent last week.

AZA's Patty Eisenhaur told BioCentury Extra that the company had no comment on the newspaper reports, which appeared in both the U.S. and Europe. JNJ has been mentioned as a likely buyer since February, when its name came up at the BioVision-BioSquare conferences in Lyon (see BioCentury, Feb. 12). Urology and drug delivery company AZA has been considered in play since its proposed merger with Abbott (ABT) unwound due to antitrust concerns (see BioCentury Extra, Dec. 17, 1999). If the deal goes through, it would be JNJ's second multi-billion biotech takeout: In October 1999, it acquired cardiovascular play Centocor for $4.9 billion (see BioCentury, Oct. 11, 1999). JNJ, which did not return calls for comment, was down $2.83 to $85.38 on Monday. ...