Friday 13 March 2009

Playing the High-Stakes Biotech Game.

Shares of biotechnology firms have declined, after the much expected Yank Society of Clinical Oncologists meeting in early June in New Orleans. Organic soil. This sector has been on a roll ever since Genentech ( NYSE : DNA ) vaulted 45% on May nineteen, 2003 following positive reports from Phase III trials of Avastin in colorectal cancer patients. Is the up to date correction a nice time to fish or cut-bait? A hot-bed of activity, cancer research has attracted lot of attention. The drug shows guarantee in extending the lives of lung cancer patients when employed in combo with Avastin. Yet manipulating the genetic makeup of plants and animals to boost crop yields is a long way from new. Cross-breeding for desired characteristics like tallness, larger milk yield or sweeter fruits, has been practiced ever since humans took up farming.

Also, normal cross-breeding can only be used inside people of the same ( or related ) species - further limiting its capability to reinforce or change food quality. The new methodology permits the transfer of one or some selected gene at a time, for only 1 or some fascinating characteristics. And the strategy even allows genes with various traits to be transferred from one species to another, very unlikely by normal breeding methods. Disentangling the molecular structure of DNA opened the doorway to fast advances in food biotechnology. A conspicuous absentee among the fund's top ten holdings was industry heavy weight, Amgen. There are 2 exchange-traded funds ( ETFs ) that target the biotechnology industry as well : iShares Naz Biotechnology ( AMEX : IBB ) and Biotech HOLDRs ( AMEX : BBH ). From Apr thirty, 2003 thru May 31, 2004, the IBB has advanced only 31.

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