NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire - Jun 27, 2012) - Despite the recent economic slowdown, the Biotech Industry has been home to some of the strongest performers in the market in 2012. The SPDR S&P Biotech ETF (XBI) and the First Trust NYSE Arca Biotech Index ETF (FBT) year-to-date are up 30 percent and 32 percent, respectively. As the world continues to face evolving health challenges the discoveries of new therapeutics and vaccines are critical. Five Star Equities examines the outlook for companies in the Biotech Industry and provides equity research on Alexza Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: [ ALXA ]) and Horizon Pharma Inc. (NASDAQ: [ HZNP ]).

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[ www.FiveStarEquities.com/ALXA ]

[ www.FiveStarEquities.com/HZNP ]

Expiring patents have been a major dilemma for pharmaceutical companies. New products that are being introduced are not expected to generate the same level of revenues of the products that have lost patent protection. The Obama administration is currently analyzing a proposal in which the exclusivity period for biologics would be cut down by 5 years. Mergers & Acquisitions activity is expected to pick up in 2012 as companies scramble to look to make up for lost revenues. M&A allow companies to acquire products that are already proven in the market place without the hassle and costs associated with research and development.

"Many of the pharmaceutical companies started producing everything in-house out of their own R&D organizations and over time they've failed to produce enough that way. So the industry is now coalescing around a 50-50 model of half on your own and half bought in. There are some things we'll do for ourselves but we need to be constantly on the lookout for new technologies," said Angus Russell, Chief Executive of Shire PLC.

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Alexza is a pharmaceutical company focused on the research, development and commercialization of novel, proprietary products for the acute treatment of central nervous system conditions. Alexza's technology, the Staccato system, vaporizes unformulated drug to form a condensation aerosol that, when inhaled, allows for rapid systemic drug delivery through deep lung inhalation.

Horizon Pharma is a biopharmaceutical company that is developing and commercializing innovative medicines to target unmet therapeutic needs in arthritis, pain and inflammatory diseases. We received FDA approval for DUEXIS on April 23, 2011, a novel tablet formulation containing a fixed-dose combination of ibuprofen and famotidine in a single pill. Total DUEXIS revenues recognized in the quarter ended March 31, 2012, were $1.1 million. Shares of the company have soared over 50 percent in the last month.

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