Aug. 14 Financial Quick Takes: Biotech tumbles with markets; plus Frontier, Portola and more

Biotech fares better than markets in sell-off
U.S. biotech indexes fared slightly better than the broader markets Wednesday as stocks tumbled amid fresh signs of a global economic slowdown and a signal from bond markets warning of recession. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and NASDAQ Composite each lost over 3%, with the Standard & Poor’s 500 index closing at just under 3%. The NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index (BTK), NASDAQ Biotechnology Index (NBI) and BioCentury 100 fell 2-2.5%, while the SPDR S&P Biotech ETF (XBI) lost 2.8%.

Frontier to list in Shanghai
The Shanghai Stock Exchange accepted an application from Frontier Biotechnologies Co. Ltd. (Nanjing, China) to list on its STAR market. The company plans to raise RMB2 billion ($285.4 million) through the sale of up to 90 million shares in an offering underwritten by UBS Securities and CITIC Securities. The company is developing therapies for HIV and pain and markets Aikening albuvirtide, a long-acting viral entry inhibitor targeting HIV gp41. The first biotech on the exchange, Shenzhen Chipscreen Biosciences Ltd. (Shanghai:688321), saw its shares soar in its first day of trading on Monday (see “Chipscreen Sets High Standard in Shanghai Debut”)...