The BioScience Index
The PwC BioScience Index (the "BioScience Index")
highlights the performance of UK bioscience companies compared to the FTSE All-Share
Index. Over the past 28 months, the FTSE All-Share Index has outperformed the BioScience
Index by 56%.The BioScience Share League
The PwC BioScience Share League (the "Share League")
analyses the share price performance of 33 UK bioscience companies relative to the share
price at 31 August 1996 (or the share price at the end of the month in which the
company’s shares were listed).
We have compiled the BioScience Index and Share League from share price
and market capitalisation data published in the Financial Times and amended by the
appropriate Adjustment Factors obtained from Financial Times Information. November and
December data has been taken from the Financial Times on 27 November 1998 and 4 January
1999 respectively.
Key news in November and December 1998
The BioScience Index has risen by 4% during 1998 to approximately
74% of its value at 31 August 1996. Only 5 of the 33 companies within the Share League
have a higher index than at 31 August 1996.
|
|
|
Company |
Index |
1 |
(1) |
Shield Diagnostics |
366.55 |
2 |
(3) |
Powderject |
300.62 |
3 |
(2) |
KS Biomedix |
260.99 |
4 |
(4) |
Biotrace Intnl |
184.21 |
5 |
(5) |
Shire Pharmaceuticals |
178.26 |
6 |
(10) |
SkyePharma |
92.90 |
7 |
(6) |
Phytopharm |
90.03 |
8 |
(7) |
Alizyme |
87.78 |
9 |
(9) |
Oxford GlycoSciences |
85.32 |
10 |
(13) |
Cantab Pharmaceuticals |
80.75 |
11 |
(11) |
Celltech |
73.24 |
12 |
(12) |
Proteus Intnl |
65.74 |
13 |
(8) |
Chiroscience |
63.38 |
14 |
(16) |
Quadrant Healthcare |
58.29 |
15 |
(15) |
Cambridge Antibody |
49.44 |
16 |
(14) |
PolyMASC Pharmaceuticals |
44.49 |
17 |
(17) |
Peptide Therapeutics |
39.85 |
18 |
(19) |
Tepnel Life Sciences |
36.67 |
19 |
(18) |
Vanguard Medica |
33.83 |
20 |
(24) |
Oxford Biomedica |
31.17 |
21 |
(21) |
Enviromed |
30.00 |
22 |
(30) |
Stanford Rook |
28.65 |
23 |
(20) |
PPL Therapeutics |
25.37 |
24 |
(28) |
ML Labs |
22.80 |
25 |
(26) |
Biocompatibles Intnl |
20.64 |
26 |
(22) |
Celsis Intnl |
18.62 |
27 |
(23) |
Core Group |
18.11 |
28 |
(25) |
British Biotech |
14.94 |
29 |
(31) |
Xenova |
14.61 |
30 |
(27) |
Oxford Molecular |
14.20 |
31 |
(33) |
Therapeutic Antibodies |
12.41 |
32 |
(29) |
Scotia |
8.77 |
33 |
(32) |
Cortecs |
3.10 |
|
|
Numbers in
brackets correspond to ranking in previous Share League |
|
|
Gainers
SkyePharma has had a busy couple of months; Michael Aston has been
appointed chief executive, Novartis Pharma injected £6m through a collaborative agreement
to jointly develop a new formulation of Foradil®, an asthma treatment, and the Company
signed a definitive agreement with DepoTech (US) under which SkyePharma will acquire all
outstanding shares in a stock for stock exchange.Stanford Rook's ("SR")
operating group now renamed SR Pharma signed an exclusive licence agreement with Corixa
(US) that allows Corixa to exploit a new immunotherapeutic product for the treatment of
psoriasis, diabetes, multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis. The Company also
strengthened its intellectual property portfolio by concluding an agreement with
University College London for the assignment of SRL172 patents to SR.
Quadrant Healthcare's ("QH") litigation judgement has been given in QH's
favour; its amended UK patent is valid and the Company is not liable for any damages.
Decliners
Scotia's share price fell on news that Boehringer Ingelheim had terminated
its development deal for Scotia's photodynamic agent, Foscan (temoporfin), for the
treatment of cancer. Scotia plans to continue development and says that the decision will
cause a short delay in the development programme.
Cortec's internal review indicated that two of the three lead programmes
(Macrotonin™ and Pseudostat™) are not as advanced as has previously been
indicated. The Company is to commission a commercial and technical review of the Company's
scientific programmes by an independent consultancy.
Special edition
Click here to see the gainers and decliners during
1998. |
