Camarillo-based Biosource International, a maker of medical supplies for the biomedical industry, has been quietly plugging along for the last decade attracting little attention from the outside world. But with the recent announcement that scientists have completed a map of the human genome, the company has been attracting investor and media interest, reflected in a major stock run-up The share price hit $25 on June 30 following news of the genome mapping. It has since dropped down to the $20 range, still significantly higher than the $3 to $5 range where it traded from Sept. 1999 to February 2000. “Certainly, there’s no question that with the attention and work going into the genome research, many doors open up for humanity, not just us,” said President and CEO James Chamberlain. “We’re just an early beneficiary.” BioSource’s products include test kits, strands of DNA and proteins used by biotechnology researchers as they try to make sense of what genes do. With the mapping of the genetic sequence, biotechnology research into genes is expected to step up good news for a company like BioSource. Because of its position in the market as a supplier to researchers, the company was one of the first in the biotech industry to see a direct link between the announcement that the genome had been mapped and a run-up in its stock price. After all, it doesn’t have to bring new drugs to market based on the research, it just has to provide supplies to the researchers. Analysts have helped. On June 14, Paul Knight, an analyst with Thomas Weisel, recommended BioSource as one of three key beneficiaries of genome research. Knight told TheStreet.com that he was upbeat about the company because it is revenue-driven, has established its products and has distribution networks in place. Knight rated the stock a strong buy after initiating coverage in June. In his report, he set a price target of $19.25 per share over the next 12 months. Both analysts who cover the stock rate it a strong buy, according to Zacks Investment Research. “(The stock is) doing very well,” said Chamberlain. “We beat both expectations by a wide margin and the third quarter is looking quite strong.” BioSource reported net income for the second quarter ended June 30 of $382,500 (5 cents a share), compared with $1 million (14 cents) in the like year-earlier period. Revenue was $8.4 million vs. $7.6 million. Chamberlain said the drop in net income was due to a one-time equity underwriting expense. Earlier this year, the company announced that Genstar Capital invested $19 million for an equity stake in BioSource. The company will use the money to fund acquisitions and to reduce its debt. In the last five years, the company has acquired five of its smaller competitors, a growth strategy that Chamberlain plans to continue. The company attributes increases in sales for the second quarter to a boom in genetic research. Its five product categories saw growth of 14 percent overall in sales during the quarter, Chamberlain said. The fastest-growing sector of BioSource’s business is its custom proteins used in DNA research, which now account for a little more than 10 percent of overall revenues. But by far the company’s biggest product line is its test kits, which account for 50 percent of sales. Chamberlain said he believes the stock is still somewhat undervalued compared to other companies in its industry. “When you look at the cash flow, we’re trading at very low multiples compared to our competitors,” he said. “Many have P-E ratios of 150 to 500. Ours is 75.” The biomedical product market is expected to grow 15 percent this year over 1999. The company, which now has 250 employees, is hoping to benefit from that expansion. In the next month, the company will move into a bigger facility in Camarillo, which will allow it to boost production. It has also opened a sales office in the United Kingdom, which is the third largest market in the world for BioSource products, Chamberlain said. Ahmed Enany, executive director of the Southern California Biomedical Council, said while BioSource is known within the greater market, it has not yet staked out a dominant position in any segment. “What they are trying to do is position themselves to take advantage of genomics and the whole hoopla around it,” Enany said. “There are a lot of people offering diagnostic kits. Companies have to position themselves within a niche in the market to be known.”