Biotechnology stocks regain lost ground

Abstract

Jaded with the promises of biotechnology-based companies, investors turned a cold shoulder to many of the gene splicers and antibody makers last year. Stock prices tumbled throughout the industry. At the end of 1984, C&EN's biotechnology stock index, which tracks the stock market performance of 12 firms representing a cross section of the biotechnology-related industry, was about 30% below its late 1983 level. Then something happened. The year turned, and perhaps following some idea that a new year calls for a new look, the market regained its enthusiasm. Whatever the reason, biotechnology stock prices surged. Between New Year's Day and the end of February, the biotechnology stock index rose nearly 50%. Since then, excluding a slump during the first half of March, it has remained more or less on the plateau reached during the first two months of the year. Unlike the 1984 slump, however, which was nearly universal, the rebound has been ...