Australian biotech market watch 15/03/10

The All Ordinaries has continued its climb from the lows of late February, reaching 4,833 in early afternoon trading, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 health index close behind, gaining another 13 points to 8,871.

News of Living Cell Technology's (ASX:LCT) implant being given marketing approval in Russia has helped buoy the xenotransplantation firm's stock price, with it lifting another 2.6% today to 19.5c, although this is still lower than the 22c it was trading at in January.

Ansell (ASX:ANN) has had some ups and downs over the last few weeks, but today put on 20c to $11.73 after announcing that BlackRock Investment Management holds 7.6 million shared, representing 5.78% voting power within the company.

Targeted cancer therapy company, ChemGenex (ASX:CXS), is still waiting on the Food and Drug Administration to conduct the Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee (ODAC) meeting, which was postponed earlier this month. The company's share price continues to hover around the 69-70c mark, up today by half a cent to 69c.

Biota Holdings (ASX:BTA) is level at $2.34 after putting in a strong performance late last week, up 7.34% from last Tuesday to $2.34.

Sonic Healthcare (ASX:SHL) has also made some decent gains over the last week, adding another 1% today to $13.82.

The news that sleep device manufacturer, ResMed (ASX:RMD), has been hit by an anti-trust suit in the US surprisingly lifted the company's fortunes on the stock market, with it gaining nearly 1% to $6.67.

CSL (ASX:CSL) is steady around $36.16 after its impressive gains experienced in February. Cochlear (ASX:COH) is also level around the $66 mark.