BioWorld Financial Watch has been tracking the price performance of biotechnology and biotech-related stocks on a weekly basis since July 1994. Since Aug. 8, 1994, BioWorld Financial Watch also has published data indicating the average percent change of all the stocks listed on U.S. exchanges both on a week-to-week basis and on a year-to-date basis. For the stocks included in BioWorld Financial Watch's 2004 stock indicator, see the list on page 413. The graph on page 427 plots the change in

BioWorld ranked the underwriters of 2004's public offerings, both initial and follow-on, in two basic ways. First, the underwriters were ranked on the total amount of gross proceeds raised in both initial and follow-on public offerings combined. If an underwriting firm acted as the sole placement agent for an institutional offering, then that firm was credited as "lead" underwriter. If more than one firm acted as placement agent, then each was considered to be a co-manager, and credited as

West Coast Editor Once upon a time, industry pundits enjoyed trading opinions on what stage of development a compound would be more likely to draw big pharma partnering interest. Would it be a much-tested, "de-risked" drug nearing, say, the end of pivotal Phase III studies (which likely would bear a hefty price tag for a piece of the action)? Or would it be some preclinical entity with a novel, promising mechanism of action (which might be available relatively cheap, and would provide the buyer

Washington Editor A number of 2004's FDA drug approvals drew attention as new approaches to defeat difficult diseases, but the total number of biotech products approved by the agency might be equally notable. According to BioWorld's figures, there were 26 approvals in 2004, about the same amount as the prior year. More than a third of those approvals came late in the year, with the FDA clearing 11 products in the final quarter. The Biotechnology Industry Organization reported 32 approvals of

Staff Writer The year 2004 not only pulled biotech out of an initial public offering slump, but it marked a time in which venture capital dollars flowed generously into the industry's coffers. It's true that investors are a little more scrutinizing, a little more selective, than they were in 2000 and earlier. But there is more research being conducted than ever before and more companies vying for money. That often means that only the best, or least risky, companies get funded. Those usually

West Coast Editor The industry in 2004 pulled its other leg - and then some - out of the hole into which biotechnology had fallen a few years ago, recording a 12-month period during which companies raised more than $20 billion. In 2003, the number was $16.5 billion, which put the year in second place on the list of most-funded years ever - and now 2004 has taken the No. 2 spot. Biotech is on a roll. At first glance, 2004 didn't seem the best of times. A dicey economy and the raging war in

Washington Editor Two significant political and regulatory events that occurred late in 2004 are sure to impact the biotechnology industry going forward: the November elections and the almost concurrent rise of safety questions at the FDA. President George Bush's re-election was considered a positive for drug industry insiders. As the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) noted following the election, "We expect health care to be front and center on the domestic agenda over the next four

Staff Writer Put aside the drug safety issues in 2004, including Chiron Corp.'s flu vaccine snafu, and just look at the numbers. The biotech industry recorded its best year since 2000, raising $20.8 billion, a 26 percent increase over 2003. There were 37 biotech initial public offerings internationally throughout the year, and dollars raised from the IPOs and follow-on offerings combined totaled about $5.5 billion. That's 48 percent more than the $3.7 billion raised in 2003. However, the

Science Editor According to Science magazine's annual "Breakthrough of the Year" issue, the two biggest discoveries of 2004 were not health-related. The top-ranked finding was that of water on Mars, with the discovery of Flores man (actually, the fossil skull of a female), a new species of tiny hominids on the Indonesian island of Flores, which apparently lived less than 20,000 years ago, coming in second. But No. 3 on the list, while hotly debated from an ethical perspective, was definitely

Managing Editor Solid. That's the best way to describe the year biotechnology had in 2004. Not phenomenal. Not record-breaking. Not breathtaking. But not dismal, or impoverished, or incarcerating, either, as it has been in the past. Often the barometer for the industry is the money it raised, and it raised funds in fine fashion in 2004, bringing in $20.8 billion. That betters 2003's amount of $16.5 billion and is second only to its high-water mark of $37.2 billion in 2000, when the hype

BioWorld Financial Watch has been tracking the price performance of biotechnology and biotech-related stocks on a weekly basis since July 1994. Since Aug. 8, 1994, BioWorld Financial Watch also has published data indicating the average percent change of all the stocks listed on U.S. exchanges both on a week-to-week basis and on a year-to-date basis. For the stocks included in BioWorld Financial Watch's 2003 stock indicator, see the list on page 429. The graph on page 443 plots the change in

Underwriter (Number Of IPOs As Lead/Number Of IPOs As Lead Or Co-Manager) Percentage Change In Stock Price Post-IPO To Year-End Lazard Freres & Co. (0/1) +2% Punk, Ziegel & Co. (0/1) +2% Brean Murray & Co. (0/1) +2% JP Morgan Securities (3/3) -8% U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray (0/3) -16% Pacific Growth Equities (0/3) -17% Citigroup Global Markets (0/1) -21% Lehman Brothers (2/2) -23% Thomas Weisel Partners (0/3) -28% Deutsche Bank Securities (1/1) -35% SG Cowen Securities (1/1

Ranked By Percent Change In Closing Price From 2003 Year-End (Or IPO Price For IPOs In 2003) Company Symbol 12/31/02* 12/31/03 % YTD I. STOCKS THAT GAINED VALUE NeoRx Corp. NERX 0.43 4.16 867.4 Interleukin ILGN 0.51 4.65 811.8 Applied Molecular AMEV 2.05 17.83 769.8 Oxigene OXGN 1.05 8.10 671.4 CytRx CYTR 0.25 1.86 644.0 BioCryst BCRX 0.96 6.85 613.5 Insmed INSM 0.44 2.97 575.0 Encysive ENCY 1.40 8.95 539.3 Flamel Tech FLML 4.35 26.79 515.9

Company Symbol 12/31/02* 3/31/03 6/30/03 9/30/03 12/31/03 % YTD Adherex AHX 0.43 0.34 0.47 0.47 0.50 16.3 Altarex AXO 0.35 0.27 0.42 0.40 0.52 48.6 Angiotech ANP 53.57 29.37 54.52 58.83 59.50 11.1 AnorMED AOM 2.70 2.68 3.15 4.20 4.50 66.7 Bioms Med MS 4.00 3.65 3.33 3.10 3.55 -11.3 Bioniche BNC 1.80 1.75 2.40 2.34 2.10 16.7 Cangene CNJ 10.25 10.16 11.75 12.50 12.40 21.0 Cardiome COM 2.45 2.40 3.80 4.70 4.62 88.6 Chromos

Company Symbol 12/31/02 3/31/03 6/30/02 9/30/03 12/31/03 % YTD Acambis ACM 275.25 248.50 365.00 306.50 305.00 10.8 Antisoma ASM 29.00 20.75 44.75 37.50 39.00 34.5 Cambridge Antibody CAT 500.00 350.00 525.00 487.00 471.00 -5.8 Celltech CCH 344.48 266.50 343.00 345.00 378.00 9.7 Oxford Bio OXB 6.43 6.44 14.50 19.50 19.87 209.0 Pharmagene PGN 28.00 24.00 43.00 56.00 78.50 180.4 Phytopharm PYM 105.62 67.50 245.00 175.00 207.50 96.5 PPL

Company Symbol 12/31/02* 3/31/03 6/30/03 9/30/03 12/31/03 % YTD Aastrom Biosci ASTM 0.47 0.31 1.01 1.41 1.33 184.2 Abgenix ABGX 7.37 8.70 10.45 14.49 12.35 67.6 Aclara ACLA 2.10 2.00 4.22 3.95 3.65 73.8 Acusphere** ACUS 14.00 — — — 8.78 -37.3 Adolor ADLR 13.91 9.91 12.27 18.35 19.99 43.7 Advancis** AVNC 10.00 — — — 7.50 -25.0 AEterna AELA 3.73 2.65 12.27 3.84 3.38 -9.4 Affymetrix AFFX 22.89 26.00 19.71 20.99 24.61 7.5 Albany