Market Report: global rebound lifts Aussie biotechs

Australian biotechs rode a wave of renewed confidence in international markets this week which helped the local bourse to stage its best performance in weeks today. Investors were buoyed by news that China had rejected British media reports it was planning to reduce its European debt holdings, as well as generally improved sentiment towards Europe in the wake of the Greek financial crisis.

Australian snoring treatment specialist Resmed was the top performer at the big end, shrugging off a slow start to the week to rebound by 4.24 percent to $63.73 on Friday. The company’s shares have been very erratic however, and still remain below their 52 week high of $70.65. Likewise, fellow Australian titans CSL and Cochlear finished the week well but with some way to go before touching their yearly highs.

Looking at the smaller players shares in biomedical company Prima Biomed surged by 7.4 percent on heavy trade on Friday after it announced it had entered into an agreement with the Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology in Germany to produce Prima’s CVac cancer immunotherapy product in readiness for European clinical trials.

Human antibody specialists Patrys Ltd also performed well, its shares rising 20 percent on Friday after earlier in the week announcing its application to start clinical trials of a breakthrough treatment for melanoma. Another notable performer, shares in anti-infective drug specialists Biota Holdings rose 4.25 percent on volumes of nearly 2 million.

Cell implant company Living Cell Technologies was virtually the only company to be left in negative territory, its shares tumbling 6.9 percent on Friday.