Biotech stocks showed a lack of direction in the week ending Nov. 19 before finishing modestly higher. Stocks did not have much meaningful catalysts to react to amid the winding down of the reporting season and ahead of the holiday week.
Among the major news of the week was
$Pfizer(PFE.US)$ filing an application for emergency use authorization for its oral COVID-19 pill Paxlovid. The company also bagged a $5.29 billion contract from the U.S. government to supply the investigational antiviral treatment and announced a voluntary license agreement with a U.N.-backed body to facilitate greater access to the global population.
$Biogen(BIIB.US)$ was also in the news due to long-time company veteran and R&D head Alfred Sandrock, who oversaw the development of many breakthrough neurological treatments, announcing his retirement.
$Connect Biopharma(CNTB.US)$ came under intense selling pressure after what seemed like positive topline data from the Phase 2 study of its investigational therapy CBP-201 in atopic dermatitis. Lack of efficacy details from each arm of the study irked investors, as they could not weigh in vis-à-vis existing treatments.
On the other hand,
$Longeveron(LGVN.US)$ shares nearly doubled during the week after its Lomecel-B for hypoplastic left heart syndrome drug received a rare pediatric disease designation from the Food and Drug Administration.