Biotech tumbles with equity markets

Biotechnology stocks dropped along with the general equity markets on Monday, the first day of trading since last Tuesday's national security emergency. And 50-basis point cuts in short-term interest rates by both the Fed and the European Central Bank did little to moderate investor sentiment. The BioCentury 100 Index posted a 7.1% decline on the day, with 95 stocks were in the red compared to only two gainers. Meanwhile, the DJIA and the NASDAQ Composite were off 7.1% and 6.8%, respectively. The pharma sector, however, was holding up, with the AMEX Pharmaceutical Index up 0.2% on Monday, indicating that some investors are still viewing drugs as a safe haven in this volatile environment.

In addition to dealing with investors' desires for liquidity in times of international unrest, the biotech markets are attempting to digest the spate of news issued by companies while the markets were closed. Taking it on the chin was Matrix (MATX), which was down $5.69 (84%) to $1.10 on 4 million shares on Monday. The prior Monday after market close, the FDA's Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee (ODAC) voted 13-0 that its clinical data did not provide substantial evidence that IntraDose cisplatin/epinephrine injectable gel is safe and effective in the treatment of symptomatic recurrent head and neck cancer (see BioCentury Extra, Monday Sept. 10). ...