For the Moment, Pharmion Helps Burnish Biotech's Image

A story in The Wall Street Journal last month highlighted the relatively poor rate of return provided by biotech investments relative to the Dow Jones Industrial Average or even T-bonds. But the WSJ failed to capture the notion that the numbers suggest that the overall rate of return for the sector isn't the only driver of investor interest. Biotech's unique volatility and the intuition that risk will be rewarded when science and business manage to click for the benefit of patients are also powerful incentives. Hefty returns therefore should be possible--including for drugs aimed at small markets that fall under the radar of Big Pharma. And that dynamic seems to be playing out, at least for the moment, as Pharmion Corp. prepares to roll out its recently approved drug, azacitidine (Vidaza).

A hematology/oncology-focused specialty pharma in-licensor, Pharmion is the only standout, along with Eyetech Pharmaceuticals Inc. , in the score...