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2011 - The Year In Review

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2011 BDI-40 Up 0.5%, ASX200 Down 14.5%;
Neuren Up 343%, Psivida Down 84%

 

January 2, 2012

The leading biotechnology companies ended the 12 months to December 31, 2011 up a collective half percent, which according to the end-of-year newspapers makes us the only Australian sector to close up. The S&P ASX200 fell 14.5 percent for the year.

 

Over the long term of 66 months since inception on June 30, 2006, the Biotech Daily Top 40 Index (BDI-40), which does not include the Big Caps of Cochlear, CSL and Resmed, was up 84.6 percent, compared to the ASX200 losing 20.0 percent.

 

The Big Caps fell a collective 18.9 percent for the year to December 31, 2011, with all three falling over the year – Cochlear down 21.4 percent, CSL down 16 percent and Resmed down 27.3 percent.

 

Twenty-three BDI-40 companies climbed in 2011, 13 fell and four were unchanged, with seven companies up more than 100 percent, 10 companies up by more than 50 percent and 11 companies down by 50 percent or more.

 

The biggest rises were in the Second 20, with Allied Health technically the best, up 550 percent from the very low base of $4 million to $26 million, following a major placement that shunned retail investors, with the share price up from three to four cents.

 

Neuren climbed 342.9 percent from $7 million to $31 million, followed by Antisense (283.3%), Genetic Technologies (269.2%), Avita (150%), Phosphagenics (140.4%), Bionomics (105%), Mesoblast (63.7%), Optiscan (60%) and Starpharma (58.4%).

 

Psivida fell the deepest, shedding 84.3 percent of its value to $26 million following a US Food and Drug Administration rejection of its Iluvien product, followed by Uscom down 75 percent on thin trading, Genera (64.3%), Cathrx (60%), Living Cell (57.9%), Patrys (56.5%), Pharmaxis (52.8%), Compumedics (51.6%), Bioniche (51%), Universal Biosensors (50.6%) and Reva (50%)

 

Outside the Top 40, the message was mixed with CBio losing 50 percent of its value from $30 million to $15 million, hitting a high of $107 million in August; GI Dynamics improved over the year; along with Calzada and Biotron. Solagran fell to $20 million - its lowest point since July 2009, when it lost most of its shares to the Opus Prime collapse and then regained them. It’s a long way from the $156 million of January 2008, but sales of the pine needle extract cure-all have not met expectations.

 

BDI-40 v ASX200 Jan 1, 2011 - Dec 31, 2011

 

BDI-40 v S&P ASX200 Jun 30, 2006 - Dec 31, 2011