Tuesday's Health Winners & Losers

Biotech stocks were largely down on Tuesday, following the rest of the market, but guidance hikes and other news gave a few stocks a shot of resilience.

The big picture: The Nasdaq biotechnology index fell 2.5%, at 800.87 on Tuesday, and the Amex biotechnology index and Amex pharmaceutical index were a few percentage points into the red as well.

A component of the Nasdaq index, Illumina(ILMN), went against the grain, adding to shares after forecasting better-than-expected numbers for the first quarter and full year 2008. On an adjusted basis, the company predicts 33 cents to 36 cents a share in the first quarter, on sales of $110 million to $115 million. For the full fiscal year, it guided to $1.45 to $1.60 a share on revenue of between $500 million and $525 million.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial were looking for 26 cents a share for the first quarter and $1.23 for full-year fiscal 2008, on revenue of $111 million and $493 million, respectively. Shares were up $6.61, or 10.2%, to $71.50.

Also, Omrix Biopharmaceuticals(OMRI) said that based on preliminary results, fourth-quarter total revenue climbed 13% to $20.4 million in the year-ago quarter and annual revenue slunk back 4% to $61.5 million. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial forecast fourth-quarter revenue of $16.7 million and annual revenue of $58.9 million.

Shares added $1.40, or 7%, to $21.50. Complete results will be released March 6. Last week the company announced that Chief Financial Officer Ana Stancic will resign from the company effective Feb. 19, with outside consultant Sophie Hobbs serving as interim CFO until a replacement is found.

Speaking of executive staffing changes, Altus(ALTU) said Tuesday that its president and chief executive, Sheldon Berkle, has resigned effective Monday. The board appointed Chairman David Pendergast to the interim position of executive chairman while the company starts a search for a new president and CEO. Shareholder approval pushed the stock 44 cents, or 7.9%, higher to $6.04.

Also on the uptick, IDM Pharma(IDMI) said Monday that results of a late-stage trial that were published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, showed that adding the company's L-MTP-PE to chemotherapy reduced the risk of death by 30% in patients with osteosarcoma, a bone cancer that affects teenagers.

European regulators granted IDM more time to respond to questions on the drug. The Food and Drug Administration denied the drug approval last year with a non-approvable letter, but Reuters reported that IDM Chief Executive Timothy Walbert said he intends to submit an amended new-drug application containing the latest findings to the agency in the second half of 2008. Shares of the micro-cap surged $2.67, or 234%, to $3.81.

Elsewhere, Affymax(AFFY) affirmed its ongoing collaboration with Takeda Pharmaceutical Company for the global development and commercialization of anemia treatment Hematide, Affymax's lead product candidate. Affymax emphasized that its partnership was unrelated to Takeda's agreement with Amgen, announced on Monday. The company noted that the agreement doesn't include Erythropoiesis-Stimulating Agents (ESAs), a class of anemia drugs that includes Amgen's Aranesp and Epogen.

Shares were trading down 33 cents, or 1.9%, at $17.12 on double normal volume.

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