With pharmaceutical products beginning to go off patent, smaller research firms addressing more common viruses and physical maladies are becoming more attractive opportunities for larger pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. PolyMedix Inc., a development stage biotechnology company, works to develop products oriented toward life threatening acute disorders. Additionally, the company develops products that may hold substantial consumer oriented potential.

As many larger pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies’ product pipe-lines are in need of replenishment, the company has the potential to become very profitable with its consumer oriented product line. It does develop products that hold great promise for life threatening disorders, but may find that its products addressing antibacterial, antifungal, defensin antibiotic and reverse Heparin will be most profitable. Currently, the company has a defensin antibiotic and Heparin product ready for Phase 1B trials starting in the second quarter of 2009.

As viruses continue to become more resistant to current pharmaceutical and biotechnology

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Highlighted companies include Genentech, inc. (DNA), Amgen, Inc. (AMGN) and Wyeth (WYE).Waxman's Bill Bad for Biotech Companies (and Doctors, Patients and America)California Representative Henry Waxman (D-CA), Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, has proposed legislation, along with his colleagues, that would give the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the authority to approve generic (bioequivalent) versions of biotech drugs. As of now, there exists no path to approval for so called follow-on biologics as there is with small-molecule pharmaceutical products.According to the Wall Street Journal, the main contention on the bill remains how many years of market exclusivity a product would receive after approval. Mr. Waxman is calling for 5 years, whereas the biotech companies and trade organizations are asking for 14 years.This is a serious issue for investors in biotechnology stocks, in our view. Allowing ...

Highlighted companies include Biogen Idec (BIIB), Genentech (DNA), Merck (MRK) and Sanofi-Aventis (SNY).At 13x our 2009 EPS of $4.05 per share, we believe that Biogen Idec's (BIIB) stock is too attractive to ignore. Valuation is below the biotech peer-group average, where several names are trading at a significant premium.The company should post non-GAAP EPS up roughly 11% in 2009, even with all the Tysabri PML issues. However, valuation alone is not enough of a reason to buy the stock. We are comfortable with owning the name here based on two other reasons.Firstly, Biogen has a significant late-stage pipeline. There are 22 programs in phase II or beyond. Six of these products are in phase III registration programs right now: lumiliximab for chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), galiximab for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL), BG-12 for relapsing / remitting multiple sclerosis (RR-MS), ...

Wyeth Pharmaceuticals (WYE) is one of the world's largest research-driven pharmaceutical and healthcare products companies. It focuses on the discovery, development, manufacturing and marketing of pharmaceuticals, vaccines, biotechnology products and non-prescription medicines.Wyeth's recent performance has been stunted due to the entry of generic Protonix in late 2007. EPS growth through 2009 will benefit from recently implemented productivity initiatives and share repurchases. Recent pipeline setbacks and generic competition will cause a drag on financial performance.The next wave of sustainable revenue growth will not come until 2012. We believe the current valuation is fair and rate the shares a Hold with a $42 price target.Jason Napodano, CFA contributed to this report.Read the full analyst report on WYE "WYE" Free Stock Analysis: Buy? Sell? Hold?Zacks Investment Research

Techne Corp. (TECH) has seen upward estimate revisions from Wall Street. For the year ending June 2009, Analyst forecasts of $2.93 per share were increased from $2.89 over the past 60 days.

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Techne Corporation develops and manufactures biotechnology products as well as hematology calibrators and controls primarily in the United States and Europe. It is a holding company, operating two subsidiaries, Research and Diagnostic Systems, Inc. (R&D Systems) of Minneapolis, Minnesota and R&D Systems Europe, Ltd. (R&D Europe) of Abingdon, England.

R&D Systems is a specialty manufacturer of biological products. It has two operating divisions, which are Hematology and Biotechnology. The Hematology Division develops and manufactures hematology controls, which are used in hospitals and clinical laboratories to check the accuracy of blood analysis instruments. The Biotechnology Division develops and manufactures biotechnology products including purified proteins (cytokines) and antibodies that are sold primarily to the research market, and

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December has brought both a stock market rally and a treasury market bubble.

Since setting an intraday low on Nov 21, the S&P 500 (SPX) has risen 21% and the Nasdaq (COMP) has rebounded by 20%. Some of the riskier industry groups have made big upward moves, including homebuilders, financials and, most recently, shipping.

Yesterday, Dec 10, 3-month treasury bills sold with negative yields. According to Bloomberg News, this has never happened in the debt security's 79-year history - which includes the Great Depression. (Negative yields imply that investors are so concerned about capital preservation that they are willing to pay for the right to loan money to the government.)

The negative yields followed an auction of 4-week treasury bills at 0% interest. Yields of long-term bonds are at record lows as well.

Combined, this data tells us that equity investors are seeking more risk, while at the

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Techne Corp. (TECH), a Zacks #1 Rank (“strong buy”), recently declared a quarterly dividend of 25 cents per share thanks to the company's solid performance. Techne is yielding 1.5%, which is well ahead of the industry average as most of the company's industry peers pay no dividend.

Company Description

Techne Corporation develops and manufactures biotechnology products as well as hematology calibrators and controls primarily in the United States and Europe. It is a holding company, operating two subsidiaries, Research and Diagnostic Systems, Inc. (R&D Systems) of Minneapolis, Minnesota and R&D Systems Europe, Ltd. (R&D Europe) of Abingdon, England.

R&D Systems is a specialty manufacturer of biological products. It has two operating divisions, which are Hematology and Biotechnology. The Hematology Division develops and manufactures hematology controls, which are used in hospitals and clinical laboratories to check the accuracy of blood analysis instruments. The Biotechnology Division develops and manufactures biotechnology products including purified

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