Big surprise for biotech from quarter one

The Australian life sciences sector has bounced back in the first quarter of 2009, aided by the strong performance of major players CSL, Cochlear and ResMed.

According to PricewaterhouseCoopers’ (PwC) latest BioForum report, the life science index grew 15.8 per cent during the quarter, a far stronger result than the 6.1 per cent decrease from the previous quarter.

Ex-majors, however, it performed less promisingly, falling 7.3 per cent. But this decrease was lower than the previous quarter, and even this segment of the biotech industry outperformed the All Ordinaries Index – which fell by 13.2 per cent over the same period.

PwC partner Craig Lawn said the result may show that the biotech industry has weathered the international market crisis, with factors such as an ageing population and increases in government spending on health representing promising portends for the year ahead.

“The unexpected result for the biotech sector illustrates that the industry may well have been an early casualty in the market turmoil but due to its counter cyclic nature the long term fundamentals of the health sector are strong,” he said.