Biotech Shows Glimmer of an Upward Trend

SAN FRANCISCO, June 1 /PRNewswire/ -- The markets closed out May in positive
territory following on from their April performance...which was their best
month in nine years. The Dow Jones industrial average posted its third
straight monthly gain closing up 4 percent with the Nasdaq close behind - up
3.3 percent in May. The positive market trend helped biotech with the Burrill
Biotech Select Index posting a modest monthly gain of 0.4 percent.

"There is just a glimmer of an upward trend for biotech as evidenced by the
performance of the Burrill Mid-Cap Biotech Index, whose members have been
particularly hard hit during this economic downturn," said G. Steven Burrill,
CEO, Burrill & Company, a San Francisco based global leader in life sciences
with activities in Private Equity, Venture Capital, Merchant Banking and
Media. "For the past couple of months some of the companies in the Index, such
as Cougar Biotech, Geron, and Dendreon, have been on a tear pushing the
year-to-date performance of the Index up a remarkable 16 percent, with a 5
percent jump in May alone.

Vaulting development stage biopharmaceutical company Cougar Biotechnology's
share value by 33 percent in May was the news that Johnson & Johnson bid
approximately $970 million cash to acquire the company and gain access to
compounds in development for the treatment of prostate cancer, as well as
breast cancer and multiple myeloma. Cougar Biotechnology is currently
conducting two Phase III trials for abiraterone acetate, a late stage,
first-in-class compound for the treatment of prostate cancer.

"The predicted land grab of biotech by big pharma because of their depressed
values has not yet panned out with pharma companies preferring to acquire each
other. However, we may now see an upswing in M&A activity heading into the
summer months, since the Johnson & Johnson acquisition of Cougar may prompt
pharma, who have been generally sitting on the sidelines, to 'pull the
trigger' on biotech deals so that they don't lose out to their competitors,"
added Burrill.

Shares of Dendreon have increased in value by a whopping 440 percent since the
company first announced it had positive Phase III data that showed its lead
product Provenge extended the lives of men with advanced prostate cancer by an
average of 4.1 months. According to analysts, Dendreon should be able to file
for regulatory approval during the fourth quarter 2009. On the basis of its
positive clinical data and strengthening share price the company raised $221
million, the second best biotech financing deal so far this year, to help fund
the manufacture and sale of Provenge.

"While the industry overall is still going through tough times, and we predict
it is still going to take many more months before biotech starts on the road
to full recovery it is encouraging to see that investors are prepared to
reward biotech companies that do achieve significant milestones," Burrill
noted.

"In addition, despite the prevailing economic recession and travel
restrictions some countries imposed because of the H1N1 flu outbreak, the 2009
BIO International Convention, held this month, attracted well over 14,000
attendees to Atlanta, Georgia," added Burrill. "The success of the meeting
demonstrates that business is still ongoing and companies are actively looking
for strategies and partners to help them get through the challenges that they
are currently facing."

By the Numbers
The monthly Burrill Report (www.burrillreport.com) provides ongoing statistics
and analysis on the 343 biotechs that are publicly traded on major US markets.
Among the current data the publication reports that: at the end of May this
group of companies had an aggregate market cap of $297.6 billion (up 3.6
percent for the month). Also:
- There are 43 companies that have market caps greater than $1B
- 154 public biotech companies (44%) have a market cap below $100 million
- 69 are trading below their cash level
- Over 110 companies have announced a corporate restructuring by slashing
staff and putting promising projects in the refrigerator
- YTD the Burrill Biotech Select Index has fallen 7 percent
- The performance of the top five biotech companies since the beginning of
the year:
Amgen (-13.8 percent); Gilead Sciences (-16.5 percent); Celgene (-24
percent); Genzyme (-11 percent); and Biogen (+ 8.6 percent).

SOURCE Burrill & Company

Peter Winter, Editor, Burrill Report, +1-415-591-5474, pwinter@b-c.com