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1999 Ends on Positive Note for Biotechnology

Jan 16, 2000
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AN FRANCISCO--1999 ended on a high note for the biotech industry as interest in sector stocks was renewed and a number of companies completed successful IPOs during the fourth quarter, according to private merchant bank Burrill. Unlike previous quarters when large and mid-sized biotech companies performed better than small ones, even smaller firms fared better as a whole, increasing 72 percent. Burrill credited renewed investor interest in genomics companies such as Abgenix, Celera Genomics, Human Genome Sciences, Incyte Pharmaceuticals, and Millennium Pharmaceuticals, whose stock prices more than doubled during the quarter.

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