BioCentury
ARTICLE | Finance

Fade to black

Biotech winners, losers in 1Q17

April 7, 2017 10:39 PM UTC

At the end of 2016, investors argued that equity values had nowhere to go but up. This proved to be the case in 1Q as all market cap bands finished in the black. Sector specialists, lured by expectations of business-friendly policies from Washington and a wave of future M&A, returned from the sidelines to take advantage of bargain prices.

Large cap biotechs valued at $5 billion and up were the second-best performing tier during the quarter, posting a median increase of 9.1% and gaining nearly $78 billion in aggregate equity value. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. led the charge with a 48% advance that added over $8 billion to its market cap, closing the quarter at $25.6 billion. On March 28 the company disclosed positive Phase III results for its tezacaftor/Kalydeco ivacaftor combination to treat cystic fibrosis. With these results in hand, the biotech plans to test triple combo therapies that could substantially expand the addressable patient population...