Mergers & Acquisitions Activity in the Biotech Industry at a Four-Year High

  Biotechnology stocks continue to be some of the strongest performers in the markets as favorable legislation, such as the FAST and TREAT acts, have helped boost investor optimism within the industry. The iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology Index Fund is up over 28 percent in 2012 -- handedly outperforming the Dow Jones industrial average year-to-date. Five Star Equities examines the outlook for companies in the Biotech Industry and provides equity research on Idenix Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: IDIX) and ImmunoCellular Therapeutics Ltd. (NYSE: IMUC).

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The FAST and TREAT acts introduced in 2012 have helped accelerate the development, review and approval process of medicines/personalized therapies for patients suffering from serious and life-threatening diseases. According to recent data from Thomson Reuters, biotech mergers & acquisitions activity is currently at a four-year high as large pharmaceuticals are facing major patent cliffs. So far in 2012 the volume of biotech M&A has exceeded $25 billion, compared to roughly 10 billion in the same period of 2011.

"Their patents have expired, and as a result they have holes in their revenue line they are trying to fill," said Scott Lindsay, global head of mergers and acquisitions at Credit Suisse. "The other part is just shoring up the pipeline they have. So even if they don't have a major patent problem, they're all looking for growth."

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Idenix Pharmaceuticals is a biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery and development of drugs for the treatment of human viral diseases. Idenix's current focus is on the treatment of patients with hepatitis C infection. Shares of the company fell nearly 30 percent last Thursday after reporting that they have received verbal notice from the FDA that a partial clinical hold has been placed on IDX184, a clinical development program.

ImmunoCellular Therapeutics is a Los Angeles-based clinical-stage company that is developing immune-based therapies for the treatment of brain and other cancers. ImmunoCellular has commenced a Phase II trial of its lead product candidate, ICT-107, a dendritic cell-based vaccine targeting multiple tumor-associated antigens for glioblastoma.

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