Despite slow economy, biotech industry is booming

Despite our economic slowdown, biotech is booming led by Silicon Valley companies giving a big boost to both their patients and their investors.

At the end of 2008, MAP Pharmaceuticals was struggling with a stock price around 2 dollars a share.

Then, lightning struck...twice.

First, MAP made progress on a new way to treat migraine headaches. Then, it signed a billion dollar deal with Pharma giant Astra-Zeneca to co-develop a drug to fight childhood asthma.

Now, the Silicon Valley biotech company is a genuine up and comer, money in the bank, stock price up about 500 percent.

And it's hiring.

"We're taking medicines that are well-established, and trying to make them better," said MAP Pharma CEO Tim Nelson.

Nelson's company is poised for growth, but it's far from alone.

His Silicon Valley biotech neighbors like Varian Systems, which makes this device to fight cancerous tumors and Gilead Sciences, battling aids have rewarded both patients and investors lately bucking the recession, and growing by the day.

"The aging of the population, the need for medical care, and a lot of real good science by a lot of smart people can hopefully provide for better outcomes for all of us," said Nelson.

For MAP, the recent stream of success means more attention, better recruiting, and a way to shake things up for millions of potential patients.

"Asthma and migraine are significant underserved medical needs. So it's a focus of trying to find an underserved medical need, and seeing if we can provide better medicine," Nelson said.

Fighting through the recession with companies like MAP showing the way.

Since the therapies are still in development, it's too early to even guess when they'll be on the market.