Biogen Alzheimer’s failure drags down Biotech Growth – Biogen, a key holding in Biotech Growth Trust and a component of most other biotech and healthcare portfolios, has lost a third of its value after trials of an Alzheimer’s drug failed to show any benefit.
Biogen and its partner, Japanese drugmaker Eisai, said they would stop development of aducanumab. the drug was targeted at the build-up of amyloids (plaque) in the brain which was thought to be a cause of Alzheimer’s. However, competing drugs with a similar approach have also failed.
We discussed the trials in a post last year.
Biogen was 11.2% of Biotech Growth Trust’s portfolio at the end of February, its largest holding. International Biotechnology did not list it in its top 10 then but it is possible that it bought some ahead of the announcement (it tries not to make strong calls on binary news affecting large constituents of its benchmark index. Biogen did not figure in BB Healthcare’s top ten holdings either.
BIOG / IBT / BBH : Biogen Alzheimer’s failure drags down Biotech Growth