US Biotech experiences strong first quarter gain, says Burrill

The USA's biotechnology industry racked up impressive gains for both the month of March and the first quarter of 2010. The Burrill Biotech Select Index posted a 3.7 % jump in value in March and an 8% overall gain for the first quarter. The Dow also performed well in March, closing up 5.5 % (4.5% for the quarter) with the Nasdaq doing even better - up 7% (5.7% for the quarter).

"Biotechs certainly benefitted from the robust general markets this quarter," said Steven Burrill, chief executive of California-based life sciences based venture capital and merchant banking group Burrill & Co. "The passage of the landmark US health care legislation late March was also a contributing factor. While investors initially gravitated to investing in Medicaid insurers and HMOs [health maintenance organizations] in the wake of the passage of the health care reform bill, the prospect of adding millions of new paying patients certainly is a plus for pharma and biotech companies."