Dendreon Corp. (NASDAQ DNDN)
After Hours: 7.84 0.52 (7.10%) as of 6:10PM ET
Dendreon Corp. is breaking through both the 50 and 200 day moving averages in after hours trading.

DNDN is attracting buyers after a report indicated that Dendreon's vaccine Neuvenge "appears to be safe in women with advanced breast cancer and showed signs of actually slowing down tumors".

The AMEX Biotechnology Index has strong support at the 200 day moving average of 770.

Targanta Therapeutics
Proposed symbol TARG
IPO date not yet announced


Targanta Therapeutics is a biopharmaceutical company is developing new treatments for severe, drug-resistant bacterial infections, including those that attack the skin, blood, and bone. Its lead candidate is oritavancin, which may treat both skin and blood infections; the drug was first discovered by Eli Lilly and further developed by InterMune, from whom Targanta acquired the rights in 2005. The company plans to develop other antibiotics in addition to oritavancin; it is working on one earlier-stage candidate that may fight osteomyelitis, an inflammation of the bone caused by infection.

ImaRx
Proposed symbol IMRX
IPO date not yet announced

ImaRx is a biopharmaceutical company which specializes in developing therapies for vascular disorders, particularly those relating to blood clots. Its SonoLysis therapy uses tiny ultrasound-activated bubbles to penetrate a blood clot and break it up; the company is developing SonoLysis as a stand-alone therapy and in combination with clot-busting drugs. The company has licensing deals with UNEMED and Bristol Myers Squibb for some of the technologies undergirding SonoLyse. ImaRx acquired FDA-approved Abbokinase, which dissolves blood clots in the lungs, from Abbott Laboratories in 2006.

The AMEX Biotechnology Index is now in a period of consolidation with strong support at the 50 day moving average of 805.

Sector events such as this week's ASCO conference could once again push the index into record territory.

The AMEX Biotechnology Index posted another strong week and continues to hit new record highs.

This breakout is an excellent sign for the Biotech sector as positive earning reports from sector giants such as Cephalon (NASDAQ CEPH) continue to propel the sector index to higher levels.

The AMEX Biotechnology Index has broken out to new all time highs.

Nanogen Inc (NASDAQ NGEN)., which develops medical test products, said it asked the Food and Drug Administration to approve its cystic fibrosis test kit and the Nanochip 400 microarray system.

The kit is intended to be used for carrier testing in adults, newborn screening and confirmatory tests in newborns and children. The nanochip system is an automated platform used for genetic sequencing.

Biotechnology company Genentech Inc. on Wednesday reported a first-quarter profit surge of 68 percent over the same period last year behind continued strong sales of its stable of blockbuster cancer drugs.

For the quarter ended March 31, the company earned $706 million, or 66 cents per share, compared with $421 million, or 39 cents a share, a year ago.

Excluding special expenses, Genentech said it would have earned $792 million, or 74 cents a share. On that basis, the results exceeded the per-share estimate among Wall Street analysts by 7 cents, according to research firm Thomson Financial.

Revenue was $2.84 billion in the quarter, an increase of 43 percent from the $1.99 billion a year earlier.

Genentech reiterated that it expects profits to be 25 percent to 30 percent greater this year than last. The South San Francisco-based company's stock price has been rising steadily over the last three years as it posts double-digit growth every quarter.