Biotech Remains Updeat During the Summer

Traditionally, the summer months tend to be quiet for the biotech sector. However, the general markets experienced three solid months of gains as investors started to believe that the worst of the economic woes were over. This upbeat mood spilled over to biotech with the Burrill Biotech Select Index posting a solid gain of almost 11% from the June to August period, staying pace with the Dow, up 11.7% and NASDAQ, up 13.23% during the same period.
Adding to the favorable capital markets, biotech impressed investors with positive drug data, strong drug sales and earnings, and partnering and M&A deals. Shares of Human Genome Sciences, for example, jumped a whopping 690% after the company announced that its drug candidate Benlysta reduced lupus symptoms. Some of the share price increase was also driven on rumors that GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) could acquire Human Genome Sciences because GSK has collaborated on Benlysta development.