OIS Index Follows Biotech Stocks Lower in October

OIS Index Follows Biotech Stocks Lower in October - OIS Index - Healthegy

At last month’s OIS@AAO, we introduced the OIS Index. To learn more about its origins and intent, listen to this OIS Podcast interview.

By Michael Lachman, EyeQ Research

The OIS Index is a composite of ophthalmic growth stocks, consisting of 29 small- and mid-cap companies that derive at least half of their value from ophthalmic products and technology. The index was launched on October 1 with an initial base value of 1,000.

Over the first month since launch, the OIS Index was down 12.4% to 875.7, a slightly larger decline compared with the NASDAQ Biotechnology Index over the same period (down 11.4%). The US Medical Device Index also declined (down 7.2%), and all of these health care technology indices underperformed the broader US stock market in October (Russell 3000 Index down 2.3%).

The largest positive contributor to OIS Index valuation during October was Clearside Biomedical (CLSD, up 24.7%, +12.8 points in the OIS Index). The stock performed well between mid-September and mid-October, in advance of clinical trial results reported at AAO from two Phase II trials. Another positive contributor was Ohr Pharmaceutical (OHRP, up 11.3%, +1.5 points).

The largest negative contributor to the OIS Index in October was Ophthotech (OPHT, down 22.3%, –17.9 points in the OIS Index). The stock declined steadily through the month, leading up to the October 31 publication of Phase IIb results of Fovista in combination with Lucentis for wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Other negative contributors were Spark Therapeutics (ONCE, down 21.7%, –17.3 points) and Omeros (OMER, down26.5%, –15.9 points).