Shares of biotechnology companies developing treatments to fight a possible outbreak of avian flu rose on Friday as delegates from around the world met to discuss plans for battling the illness, Reuters reported. BioCryst Pharmaceuticals Inc., a small biotech in Birmingham, Alabama, saw its shares soar as much as 20 percent while Gilead Sciences Inc. shares rose 5 percent. Gilead provided the greatest support to the Nasdaq in afternoon trading. Delegates from 80 countries and international agencies began a meeting on Thursday to formulate the best way to fight the growing outbreak of avian influenza. BioCryst is developing a drug which, if approved, could be a third option to treat the H5N1 avian influenza, which has already killed more than 100 people in Asia and could turn into a pandemic that could kill millions if it mutates into a more deadly version of the virus, experts have said. Gilead has partnered with Roche Holding AG to develop the flu treatment Tamiflu, which is now being stockpiled by a number of countries. The other option to treat the virus is Relenza, developed by Britain's GlaxoSmithKline. Shares of Gilead were up $2.18, to $47.69 while BioCryst was up $1.24 to $11.50 in afternoon trade on the Nasdaq.
