Editor's Corner

Yesterday's report in The Washington Post reviewing the ups and downs of the biotech stock indexes helps highlight the incredibly high risks everyone in drug development lives with everyday. The same day the Post was examining the risks of the market, Myogen saw its stock shoot up 60 percent based on positive results for a mid-stage trial. Any other day of the week, a company is just as likely to see its stock plunge based on weak data. It's important, though, to keep in mind that the underlying trend in the biotech business is toward profitability. Biotech drugs take years to develop, and the stock valuations will as well. - John Carroll