BioCentury
ARTICLE | Finance

Ebb & Flow

January 27, 2003 8:00 AM UTC

The success of Amylin's drive-by follow-on apparently was not lost on AtheroGenics (AGIX), which filed last Tuesday to sell 6 million shares in a deal underwritten by Morgan Stanley; Lehman Brothers; Lazard Freres; and Adams, Harkness & Hill. Thus, the clock is now ticking on AGIX, and the speed with which its follow-on is completed - as well as any haircut it takes - may serve as a gauge of investor appetite for biotechs on the cusp of Phase III trials.

Already this year, investors have gobbled up shares of AMLN and Antigenics (AGEN). Although they play in different indications - metabolic disorders for AMLN, while AGEN is in cancer, autoimmune disorders and infectious diseases - both companies have Phase III data events slated for later this year. Also, both companies sold more shares than were originally proposed...