Tag Archives: Big Pharma

Health Care's Best Stock: Celgene vs. Abbott Labs

By David Williamson and Max Macaluso, Ph.D., The Motley Fool

Filed under:

With March Madness in full swing, we decided to stick with what we know here at The Motley Fool, trading our basketball picks in for stock picks. We formed our own bracket filled with the top Big Pharma and Big Biotech stocks in a winner take-all tournament determined by the collective intelligence of our CAPS community.

This championship round matchup features Celgene and Abbott Labs. Like the injury suffered to Louisville’s Kevin Ware, Abbott is missing a key piece after the spin-off of AbbVie. Celgene is playing the role of Michigan, with a roster of known stars (Revlimid as Trey Burke), along with emerging talents (Abraxane as Mitch McGary).

Watch and find out which company cuts down the nets as health care’s best stock.

Abbott Labs has changed forever after losing its branded pharmaceutical business to a spinoff. If you’re a current investor, or might be buying shares soon, make sure you truly understand the stock by reading The Motley Fool’s brand new premium report on Abbott Labs. The report outlines all of the must-know opportunities and risks, along with a full year of analyst updates to keep you up to speed. Best of all, you can claim this report today by clicking here now.

var FoolAnalyticsData = FoolAnalyticsData || []; FoolAnalyticsData.push({ eventType: “TickerReportPitch”, contentByline: “David Williamson and Max Macaluso, Ph.D.”, contentId: “cms.30778”, contentTickers: “NYSE:ABT, NASDAQ:CELG”, contentTitle: “Health Care’s Best Stock: Celgene vs. Abbott Labs“, hasVideo: “True”, …read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

The New Cure for Seasonal Allergies

By David Williamson, Brenton Flynn, and Max Macaluso, Ph.D., The Motley Fool

Filed under:

From the impact of Obamacare to cutting-edge research, biotech buyouts to Big Pharma court battles, The Motley Fool’s health-care team sits down each week to discuss the most fascinating developments in health care and their implications for long-term investors. In this week’s edition, the team talks about the biggest headlines, stocks that have both popped and dropped, and companies our analysts will be watching in the coming days.

In the following segment, health-care analyst David Williamson discusses the exciting news for seasonal allergy sufferers. Watch and find out how this brand-new drug is poised to help Merck, and investors, reap pollen profits.

Can Merck beat the patent cliff?
This titan of the pharmaceutical industry stumbled into 2013 and continues to battle patent expirations and pipeline problems. Is Merck still a solid dividend play, or should investors be looking elsewhere? In a new premium research report on Merck, the Fool tackles all of the company’s moving parts, its major market opportunities, and reasons to both buy and sell. To find out more, click here to claim your copy today.

var FoolAnalyticsData = FoolAnalyticsData || []; FoolAnalyticsData.push({ eventType: “TickerReportPitch”, contentByline: “David Williamson, Brenton Flynn, and Max Macaluso, Ph.D.”, contentId: “cms.30476”, contentTickers: “NYSE:MRK”, contentTitle: “The New Cure for Seasonal Allergies”, hasVideo: “True”, pitchId: “63”, …read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Why Investors Need to Watch Alkermes

By David Williamson, Brenton Flynn, and Max Macaluso, Ph.D., The Motley Fool

Filed under:

From the impact of Obamacare to cutting-edge research, biotech buyouts to Big Pharma court battles, The Motley Fool’s health-care team sits down each week to discuss the most fascinating developments in health care, and their implications for long-term investors. In this week’s edition, the team talks about Novartis‘ patent dispute, stocks that have both popped and plummeted, and companies our analysts will be watching in the coming days.

In the following segment, health-care analyst David Williamson chooses Alkermes as his stock to watch this week. Watch and find out why this extended-release-technology company could bring extended returns to investors.

What macro trend was Warren Buffett referring to when he said “this is the tapeworm that’s eating at American competitiveness”? Find out in our free report: “What’s Really Eating at America’s Competitiveness.” You’ll also discover an idea to profit as companies work to eradicate this efficiency-sucking tapeworm. Just click here for free, immediate access.

The article Why Investors Need to Watch Alkermes originally appeared on Fool.com.


Brenton Flynn, Max Macaluso, Ph.D.
David Williamson, and The Motley Fool have no position in any stocks mentioned. 
Follow David on Twitter: @MotleyDavid.
Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools don’t all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Copyright © 1995 – 2013 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

(function(c,a){window.mixpanel=a;var b,d,h,e;b=c.createElement(“script”);
b.type=”text/javascript”;b.async=!0;b.src=(“https:”===c.location.protocol?”https:”:”http:”)+
‘//cdn.mxpnl.com/libs/mixpanel-2.2.min.js’;d=c.getElementsByTagName(“script”)[0];
d.parentNode.insertBefore(b,d);a._i=[];a.init=function(b,c,f){function d(a,b){
var c=b.split(“.”);2==c.length&&(a=a[c[0]],b=c[1]);a[b]=function(){a.push([b].concat(
Array.prototype.slice.call(arguments,0)))}}var g=a;”undefined”!==typeof f?g=a[f]=[]:
f=”mixpanel”;g.people=g.people||[];h=[‘disable’,’track’,’track_pageview’,’track_links’,
‘track_forms’,’register’,’register_once’,’unregister’,’identify’,’alias’,’name_tag’,
‘set_config’,’people.set’,’people.increment’];for(e=0;e<h.length;e++)d(g,h[e]);
a._i.push([b,c,f])};a.__SV=1.2;})(document,window.mixpanel||[]);
mixpanel.init("9659875b92ba8fa639ba476aedbb73b9");

function addEvent(obj, evType, fn, useCapture){
if (obj.addEventListener){
obj.addEventListener(evType, fn, useCapture);
return true;
} else if (obj.attachEvent){
var r = obj.attachEvent("on"+evType, fn);
return r;
}
}

addEvent(window, "load", function(){new FoolVisualSciences();})
addEvent(window, "load", function(){new PickAd();})

var themeName = 'dailyfinance.com';
var _gaq = _gaq || [];
_gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-24928199-1']);
_gaq.push(['_trackPageview']);

(function () {

var ga = document.createElement('script');
ga.type = 'text/javascript';
ga.async = true;
ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js';

var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0];
s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s);
})();

…read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

The Next Potential Global Pandemic

By David Williamson, Brenton Flynn, and Max Macaluso, Ph.D., The Motley Fool

Filed under:

From the impact of Obamacare to cutting-edge research, biotech buyouts to Big Pharma court battles, The Motley Fool’s health-care team sits down each week to discuss the most fascinating developments in health care, and their implications for long-term investors. In this week’s edition, the team talks about Novartis‘ patent dispute, stocks that have both popped and plummeted, and companies our analysts will be watching in the coming days.

In the following segment, health-care analyst David Williamson discusses the recent outbreak of avian flu in China. Should viewers be concerned? And what stocks hold the cure for investors’ portfolios?

What macro trend was Warren Buffett referring to when he said “this is the tapeworm that’s eating at American competitiveness”? Find out in our free report: “What’s Really Eating at America’s Competitiveness.” You’ll also discover an idea to profit as companies work to eradicate this efficiency-sucking tapeworm. Just click here for free, immediate access.

The article The Next Potential Global Pandemic originally appeared on Fool.com.


Brenton Flynn
, Max Macaluso, Ph.D., David Williamson, and The Motley Fool have no position in any stocks mentioned. Follow David on Twitter: @MotleyDavid.
Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools don’t all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Copyright © 1995 – 2013 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

(function(c,a){window.mixpanel=a;var b,d,h,e;b=c.createElement(“script”);
b.type=”text/javascript”;b.async=!0;b.src=(“https:”===c.location.protocol?”https:”:”http:”)+
‘//cdn.mxpnl.com/libs/mixpanel-2.2.min.js’;d=c.getElementsByTagName(“script”)[0];
d.parentNode.insertBefore(b,d);a._i=[];a.init=function(b,c,f){function d(a,b){
var c=b.split(“.”);2==c.length&&(a=a[c[0]],b=c[1]);a[b]=function(){a.push([b].concat(
Array.prototype.slice.call(arguments,0)))}}var g=a;”undefined”!==typeof f?g=a[f]=[]:
f=”mixpanel”;g.people=g.people||[];h=[‘disable’,’track’,’track_pageview’,’track_links’,
‘track_forms’,’register’,’register_once’,’unregister’,’identify’,’alias’,’name_tag’,
‘set_config’,’people.set’,’people.increment’];for(e=0;e<h.length;e++)d(g,h[e]);
a._i.push([b,c,f])};a.__SV=1.2;})(document,window.mixpanel||[]);
mixpanel.init("9659875b92ba8fa639ba476aedbb73b9");

function addEvent(obj, evType, fn, useCapture){
if (obj.addEventListener){
obj.addEventListener(evType, fn, useCapture);
return true;
} else if (obj.attachEvent){
var r = obj.attachEvent("on"+evType, fn);
return r;
}
}

addEvent(window, "load", function(){new FoolVisualSciences();})
addEvent(window, "load", function(){new PickAd();})

var themeName = 'dailyfinance.com';
var _gaq = _gaq || [];
_gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-24928199-1']);
_gaq.push(['_trackPageview']);

(function () {

var ga = document.createElement('script');
ga.type = 'text/javascript';
ga.async = true;
ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js';

var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0];
s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s);
})();

<p style="clear: both;padding: 8px 0 0 0;height: 2px;font-size: …read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Is Obamacare Turning Pharmacies Into Doctors?

By David Williamson, Brenton Flynn, and Max Macaluso, Ph.D., The Motley Fool

Filed under:

From the impact of Obamacare to cutting-edge research, biotech buyouts to Big Pharma court battles, The Motley Fool’s health-care team sits down each week to discuss the most fascinating developments in health care, and their implications for long-term investors. In this week’s edition, the team talks about Novartis‘ patent dispute, stocks that have both popped and plummeted, and the companies our analysts will be watching in the coming days.

In the following segment, health-care analyst David Williamson discusses two big developments with retail pharmacies that are affecting consumers. Watch and find out why you might be ditching your family doctor for a Walgreen and where you can get the cheapest generic drugs. Fool on!

Costco‘s low prices haven’t just benefited customers — shares have walloped the market, returning 11,000% over the past two decades. However, with prices near all-time highs, is the ride over for Costco investors? To answer that and more, The Motley Fool’s compiled a premium research report with in-depth analysis on Costco. Simply click here now to gain instant access to this valuable investor’s resource.

var FoolAnalyticsData = FoolAnalyticsData || []; FoolAnalyticsData.push({ eventType: “TickerReportPitch”, contentByline: “David Williamson, Brenton Flynn, and Max Macaluso, Ph.D.”, contentId: “cms.30429”, contentTickers: “NYSE:WAG, NASDAQ:COST, NYSE:CVS, NYSE:NVS, NYSE:RAD”, contentTitle: “Is Obamacare Turning Pharmacies Into Doctors? “, hasVideo: “True”, pitchId: “101”, …read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Final Four Stocks: Celgene vs. Johnson &amp; Johnson

By David Williamson and Max Macaluso, Ph.D., The Motley Fool

Filed under:

With March Madness in full swing, we decided to stick with what we know here at The Motley Fool, trading our basketball picks in for stock picks. We formed our own bracket filled with the top Big Pharma and Big Biotech stocks in a winner take-all tournament as determined by the collective intelligence of our CAPS community.

This Final Four matchup is a heavyweight bout between Celgene and Johnson & Johnson. Watch and find out what J&J and embattled Rutgers University have in common and whether Celgene’s style of play is enough to advance to the championship round.

Can Celgene continue to soar?
Every in-the-know biotech investor has an eye on Celgene. Shares have skyrocketed this year as the company outlined a plan to almost triple its profits in only a few years. But should you buy the story Celgene is selling? Make sure you understand the key opportunities and risks facing this company by picking up The Motley Fool’s brand-new premium report on Celgene. To claim your copy today, simply click here now.

var FoolAnalyticsData = FoolAnalyticsData || []; FoolAnalyticsData.push({ eventType: “TickerReportPitch”, contentByline: “David Williamson and Max Macaluso, Ph.D.”, contentId: “cms.30279”, contentTickers: “NYSE:JNJ, NASDAQ:CELG”, contentTitle: “Final Four Stocks: Celgene vs. Johnson & Johnson”, hasVideo: “True”, pitchId: “128”, …read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Final Four Stocks: Abbott Labs vs. AbbVie

By David Williamson and Max Macaluso, Ph.D., The Motley Fool

Filed under:

Spring is in the air, and the annual NCAA March Madness college basketball tournament has once again captivated the nation. Of course, that also means Cinderella stories like Wichita State have busted the brackets of would-be basketball prognosticators.

Here at The Motley Fool, we decided to stick with what we know, trading our basketball picks in for stock picks. We formed our own bracket filled with the top Big Pharma and Big Biotech stocks in a winner take-all tournament as determined by the collective intelligence of our CAPS community.

This Final Four matchup is a heavyweight bought between Abbott Labs and AbbVie. Watch and find out which stock gets eliminated and which will advance to the championship round.

Abbott Labs has changed forever after losing its branded pharmaceutical business to a spinoff. If you’re a current investor, or might be buying shares soon, make sure you truly understand the stock by reading The Motley Fool’s brand-new premium report on Abbott Labs. The report outlines all of the must-know opportunities and risks, along with a full year of analyst updates to keep you up to speed. Best of all, you can claim this report today by clicking here now.

var FoolAnalyticsData = FoolAnalyticsData || []; FoolAnalyticsData.push({ eventType: “TickerReportPitch”, contentByline: “David Williamson and Max Macaluso, Ph.D.”, contentId: “cms.30267”, contentTickers: “NYSE:ABT, NYSE:ABBV”, contentTitle: “Final Four Stocks: Abbott Labs vs. AbbVie”, hasVideo: “True”, pitchId: “84”, …read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

How the "BRAIN Initiative" Can Help Big Pharma

By Max Macaluso, Ph.D., Brenton Flynn, and David Williamson, The Motley Fool

Filed under:

From the impact of Obamacare to cutting-edge research, biotech buyouts to Big Pharma court battles, The Motley Fool’s health-care team sits down each week to discuss the most fascinating developments across the health-care industry, and their implications for long-term investors. In this week’s edition, the team talks about Novartis‘ patent dispute, stocks that have both popped and plummeted, and companies our analysts will be watching in the coming days.

In the following segment, health-care analyst Max Macaluso discusses President Obama‘s recent announcement of the $100 million “BRAIN Initiative” and how this project can help drugmakers, including Eli Lilly  and Merck, that are developing new treatments for Alzheimer’s disease.

Is Eli Lilly a buy or sell?
With two of its top three drugs poised to lose patent protection this year, is Eli Lilly a dividend stock headed nowhere fast? In a new premium report, The Motley Fool’s senior pharmaceuticals analyst breaks down all of Lilly’s moving parts, including an in-depth analysis of the company’s must-know opportunities and reasons to buy and sell today. To find out more click here to claim your copy today.

var FoolAnalyticsData = FoolAnalyticsData || []; FoolAnalyticsData.push({ eventType: “TickerReportPitch”, contentByline: “Max Macaluso, Ph.D., Brenton Flynn, and David Williamson“, contentId: “cms.30243”, contentTickers: “NYSE:MRK, NYSE:LLY”, contentTitle: “How the “BRAIN Initiative” Can Help Big Pharma“, hasVideo: “True”, pitchId: “126”, …read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Health Care's Sweet 16 Stocks: Gilead vs. Amgen

By David Williamson and Brenton Flynn, The Motley Fool

Filed under:

Spring is in the air, and the annual NCAA March Madness college basketball tournament has once again captivated the nation. Of course, that also means Cinderella stories like Florida Gulf Coast have busted brackets of would-be basketball prognosticators.

Here at The Motley Fool, we decided to stick with what we know, trading our basketball picks in for stock picks. We formed our own Sweet 16 filled with the top Big Pharma and Big Biotech stocks in a winner-take-all tournament is determined by the collective intelligence of our CAPS community.

This matchup is a heavyweight bout between Gilead and Amgen. Watch and find out which stock gets eliminated and which will advance to the next round.

What macro trend was Warren Buffett referring to when he said “this is the tapeworm that’s eating at American competitiveness”? Find out in our free report: “What’s Really Eating at America’s Competitiveness.” You’ll also discover an idea to profit as companies work to eradicate this efficiency-sucking tapeworm. Just click here for free, immediate access.

The article Health Care’s Sweet 16 Stocks: Gilead vs. Amgen originally appeared on Fool.com.


Brenton Flynn and David Williamson have no position in any stocks mentioned.
Follow David on Twitter: @MotleyDavid.





The Motley Fool recommends Gilead Sciences. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools don’t all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Copyright © 1995 – 2013 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

(function(c,a){window.mixpanel=a;var b,d,h,e;b=c.createElement(“script”);
b.type=”text/javascript”;b.async=!0;b.src=(“https:”===c.location.protocol?”https:”:”http:”)+
‘//cdn.mxpnl.com/libs/mixpanel-2.2.min.js’;d=c.getElementsByTagName(“script”)[0];
d.parentNode.insertBefore(b,d);a._i=[];a.init=function(b,c,f){function d(a,b){
var c=b.split(“.”);2==c.length&&(a=a[c[0]],b=c[1]);a[b]=function(){a.push([b].concat(
Array.prototype.slice.call(arguments,0)))}}var g=a;”undefined”!==typeof f?g=a[f]=[]:
f=”mixpanel”;g.people=g.people||[];h=[‘disable’,’track’,’track_pageview’,’track_links’,
‘track_forms’,’register’,’register_once’,’unregister’,’identify’,’alias’,’name_tag’,
‘set_config’,’people.set’,’people.increment’];for(e=0;e<h.length;e++)d(g,h[e]);
a._i.push([b,c,f])};a.__SV=1.2;})(document,window.mixpanel||[]);
mixpanel.init("9659875b92ba8fa639ba476aedbb73b9");

function addEvent(obj, evType, fn, useCapture){
if (obj.addEventListener){
obj.addEventListener(evType, fn, useCapture);
return true;
} else if (obj.attachEvent){
var r = obj.attachEvent("on"+evType, fn);
return r;
}
}

addEvent(window, "load", function(){new FoolVisualSciences();})
addEvent(window, "load", function(){new PickAd();})

var themeName = 'dailyfinance.com';
var _gaq = _gaq || [];
_gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-24928199-1']);
_gaq.push(['_trackPageview']);

(function () {

var ga = document.createElement('script');
…read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Health Care's Sweet 16 Stocks: Celgene vs. Biogen

By David Williamson and Max Macaluso, Ph.D., The Motley Fool

Filed under:

Spring is in the air, and the annual NCAA March Madness college basketball tournament has once again captivated the nation. Of course, that also means Cinderella stories like Florida Gulf Coast have busted the brackets of would-be basketball prognosticators.

Here at The Motley Fool, we decided to stick with what we know, trading our basketball picks in for stock picks. We formed our own Sweet 16 filled with the top Big Pharma and Big Biotech stocks in a winner-take-all tournament determined by the collective intelligence of our CAPS community.

This matchup is a heavyweight bout between Celgene and Biogen Idec. Watch and find out which stock gets eliminated and which will advance to the next round.

Can Celgene continue to soar?
Every in-the-know biotech investor has an eye on Celgene. Shares have skyrocketed as the company outlined a plan to almost triple its profits in only a few years. But should you buy the story Celgene is selling? Make sure you understand the key opportunities and risks facing this company by picking up The Motley Fool’s brand-new premium report on Celgene. To claim your copy today simply click here now.

var FoolAnalyticsData = FoolAnalyticsData || []; FoolAnalyticsData.push({ eventType: “TickerReportPitch”, contentByline: “David Williamson and Max Macaluso, Ph.D.”, contentId: “cms.28474”, contentTickers: “NYSE:TEVA, NYSE:SNY, NYSE:NVS, NASDAQ:CELG, NASDAQ:BIIB”, contentTitle: “Health Care’s Sweet 16 Stocks: Celgene vs. Biogen”, hasVideo: “True”, …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Health Care's Sweet 16 Stocks: Johnson &amp; Johnson vs. Pfizer

By David Williamson and Brenton Flynn, The Motley Fool

Filed under:

Spring is in the air, and the annual NCAA March Madness college basketball tournament has once again captivated the nation. Of course, that also means Cinderella stories like Florida Gulf Coast have busted the brackets of would-be basketball prognosticators.

Here at The Motley Fool, we decided to stick with what we know, trading our basketball picks in for stock picks. We formed our own Sweet 16 filled with the top Big Pharma and Big Biotech stocks in a winner-take-all tournament is determined by the collective intelligence of our CAPS community.

This matchup will feature a heavyweight bout between Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer. Watch and find out which stock gets eliminated and which will advance to the next round.

Is bigger really better?
Involved in everything from baby powder to biotech, Johnson & Johnson has its critics convinced that the company is spread way too thin. If you want to know if J&J is nothing but a bloated corporate whale or a well diversified giant that’s perfect for your portfolio, check out the Fool’s new premium report outlining the Johnson & Johnson story in terms that any investor can understand. Claim your copy by clicking here now

var FoolAnalyticsData = FoolAnalyticsData || []; FoolAnalyticsData.push({ eventType: “TickerReportPitch”, contentByline: “David Williamson and Brenton Flynn“, contentId: “cms.28476”, contentTickers: “NYSE:PFE, NYSE:JNJ, NYSE:ZTS”, contentTitle: “Health Care’s Sweet 16 Stocks: Johnson & Johnson vs. Pfizer”, hasVideo: “True”, …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Health Care's Sweet 16 Stocks: Novartis vs. Bristol-Myers Squibb

By David Williamson and Max Macaluso, Ph.D., The Motley Fool

Filed under:

Spring is in the air, and the annual NCAA March Madness college basketball tournament has once again captivated the nation. Of course, that also means Cinderella stories like Florida Gulf Coast have busted the brackets of would-be prognosticators.

Here at The Motley Fool, we decided to stick with what we know, trading our basketball picks in for stock picks. We formed our own Sweet 16 filled with the top Big Pharma and Big Biotech stocks in a winner take-all tournament determined by the collective intelligence of our CAPS community.

This matchup will feature a heavyweight bout between Novartis and Bristol-Myers Squibb. Watch and find out which stock gets eliminated and which will advance to the next round.

Is bigger really better?
Involved in everything from baby powder to biotech, Johnson & Johnson has its critics convinced that the company is spread way too thin. If you want to know whether J&J is nothing but a bloated corporate whale — or a well-diversified giant that’s perfect for your portfolio — check out the Fool’s new premium report outlining the Johnson & Johnson story in terms that any investor can understand. Claim your copy by clicking here now

var FoolAnalyticsData = FoolAnalyticsData || []; FoolAnalyticsData.push({ eventType: “TickerReportPitch”, contentByline: “David Williamson and Max Macaluso, Ph.D.”, contentId: “cms.28472”, contentTickers: “NYSE:PFE, NYSE:JNJ, NYSE:BMY, NYSE:NVS”, contentTitle: “Health Care’s Sweet 16 Stocks: Novartis vs. Bristol-Myers Squibb”, hasVideo: “True”, …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Market Madness Showdown: AbbVie vs. GlaxoSmithKline

By Max Macaluso, Ph.D. and David Williamson, The Motley Fool

Filed under:

In honor of March Madness, The Motley Fool’s health-care team assembled their own bracket consisting of the 16 largest and best pharmaceutical and biotech stocks on the market. The series gets under way with a tough matchup between AbbVie , Abbott’s recently spun-off pharmaceutical division, and Big Pharma giant GlaxoSmithKline . To learn the bull and bear cases for each stock — and to see which stock will move on to the Elite Eight — watch the following video.

In the pharma business, great success comes with a caveat. AbbVie is a perfect example, as investors in the new company are left wondering what the future holds once the company’s golden goose, Humira, is cooked. The Fool’s brand-new premium report on the company answers the high-profile questions that AbbVie investors are asking. Simply click here now to claim your copy today.

var FoolAnalyticsData = FoolAnalyticsData || []; FoolAnalyticsData.push({ eventType: “TickerReportPitch”, contentByline: “Max Macaluso, Ph.D. and David Williamson“, contentId: “cms.28366”, contentTickers: “NYSE:GSK, NYSE:ABBV”, contentTitle: “Market Madness Showdown: AbbVie vs. GlaxoSmithKline”, hasVideo: “True”, pitchId: “143”, pitchTickers: “NYSE:ABBV”, …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Is Obamacare a Disaster Waiting to Happen for Big Pharma?

By Keith Speights, The Motley Fool

Filed under:

Big pharma loves Obamacare, right? After all, the main lobbying group for big pharma, the Pharmaceutical Researchers and Manufacturers of America, or PhRMA, spent $150 million on an advertising campaign coordinated with the Obama administration to support the legislationJeffrey Kindler, CEO of Pfizer , emerged as a prominent cheerleader at the time the ACA was passed. One of the chief architects of the bill, Elizabeth Fowler, left the White House in December to work for Johnson & Johnson . But will Obamacare really help big pharma — or could it really a disaster waiting to happen?

Bad-tasting medicine
In return for those millions spent on promoting Obamacare, big pharma gets the privilege of spending even more money. Lots more money. For starters, the drugmakers must provide higher rebates to Medicaid for prescription drugs. This expanded rebate program will cost the industry around $20 billion over the next 10 years.

Pharmaceutical companies must also pay new excise taxes on branded drugs. Those taxes amounted to $5.3 billion over the past two years. By 2021, the cumulative total for the new taxes will top $30 billion. Since the amount a given company must pay is based on its percentage of total drug sales in the previous year, big pharma will pay the biggest bucks with this tax.

Filling part of the Medicare Part D “doughnut hole” will cost another $30 billion. Pharma companies must discount prices by 50% to senior citizens who reach the level of spending where this coverage gap exists. The grand total price tag for all of these new taxes, fees, and rebates for the industry over the next 10 years comes in at $80 billion. After helping to derail HillaryCare in the 1990s, were the folks at Pfizer, J&J, and other big pharmaceutical companies crazy to jump aboard Obamacare?

Pain for gain
There are two views that maintain that Obamacare is actually quite good for big pharma. The first perspective is that health care reform was destined to be passed in some form, and the industry’s efforts helped minimize the potential damage. Even though drugmakers will shell out tens of billions of dollars, it could have been worse.

For example, some wanted to allow U.S. citizens to buy less expensive drugs from other countries. Others pushed for higher rebates for Medicare and Medicaid. Some Obamacare proponents pushed to enable Medicare to negotiate drug prices with pharmaceutical firms, thereby limiting the ability of the companies to set prices as they do now. Big pharma successfully blocked all of these measures that would have significantly added to costs.

The second perspective goes beyond this “glass half-full” viewpoint. Quite a few observers think big pharma will reap rewards from Obamacare that will exceed the added costs. They point to the estimated 32 million or so Americans who will gain insurance — and buy more prescription drugs. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or CMS, projects that prescription drug expenditures will double by 2020, adding another …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Is This Drugmaker Making the Right Moves, in the Right Places?

By Max Macaluso, Ph.D., The Motley Fool

Filed under:

AstraZeneca is commonly recognized as one of the most fragile Big Pharma stocks on the market. While its peers, such as GlaxoSmithKline and Pfizer , have restructured their R&D strategies or spun out divisions, AstraZeneca has only recently started to make changes. Last autumn, the company suspended its share-buyback program in an effort to preserve cash, reshuffled its management team, and today announced its boldest move yet: It’s moving its headquarters and shifting focus to three primary R&D sites. In the following video, Motley Fool analyst Max Macaluso discusses why investors should take notice of the company’s bold plans.

What macro trend was Warren Buffett referring to when he said “this is the tapeworm that’s eating at American competitiveness”? Find out in our free report: “What’s Really Eating at America’s Competitiveness.” You’ll also discover an idea to profit as companies work to eradicate this efficiency-sucking tapeworm. Just click here for free, immediate access.

The article Is This Drugmaker Making the Right Moves, in the Right Places? originally appeared on Fool.com.


Max Macaluso, Ph.D., and The Motley Fool have no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools don’t all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Copyright © 1995 – 2013 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

(function(c,a){window.mixpanel=a;var b,d,h,e;b=c.createElement(“script”);
b.type=”text/javascript”;b.async=!0;b.src=(“https:”===c.location.protocol?”https:”:”http:”)+
‘//cdn.mxpnl.com/libs/mixpanel-2.2.min.js’;d=c.getElementsByTagName(“script”)[0];
d.parentNode.insertBefore(b,d);a._i=[];a.init=function(b,c,f){function d(a,b){
var c=b.split(“.”);2==c.length&&(a=a[c[0]],b=c[1]);a[b]=function(){a.push([b].concat(
Array.prototype.slice.call(arguments,0)))}}var g=a;”undefined”!==typeof f?g=a[f]=[]:
f=”mixpanel”;g.people=g.people||[];h=[‘disable’,’track’,’track_pageview’,’track_links’,
‘track_forms’,’register’,’register_once’,’unregister’,’identify’,’alias’,’name_tag’,
‘set_config’,’people.set’,’people.increment’];for(e=0;e<h.length;e++)d(g,h[e]);
a._i.push([b,c,f])};a.__SV=1.2;})(document,window.mixpanel||[]);
mixpanel.init("9659875b92ba8fa639ba476aedbb73b9");

function addEvent(obj, evType, fn, useCapture){
if (obj.addEventListener){
obj.addEventListener(evType, fn, useCapture);
return true;
} else if (obj.attachEvent){
var r = obj.attachEvent("on"+evType, fn);
return r;
}
}

addEvent(window, "load", function(){new FoolVisualSciences();})
addEvent(window, "load", function(){new PickAd();})

var themeName = 'dailyfinance.com';
var _gaq = _gaq || [];
_gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-24928199-1']);
_gaq.push(['_trackPageview']);

(function () {

var ga = document.createElement('script');
ga.type = 'text/javascript';
ga.async = true;
ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js';

var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0];
…read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Merck Gains on Cholesterol Drug Hopes

By Brenton Flynn, The Motley Fool

Filed under:

One of the reasons investors look to Big Pharma stocks is their ability to handle the setbacks that their smaller competitors can’t. But even Merck , whose roster of blockbuster drugs numbered 11 last year, can only handle so many setbacks. And there’s been no shortage of them for the Dow component lately, pressuring shares over the past three months while the Dow Jones Industrial Average and its blue-chip pharmaceutical peers have risen around 10%.

However, positive news emerged today to break Merck out of this holding pattern. Are the gains setting investors up for more disappointment? In the following video, Brenton Flynn outlines the news behind today’s move and some historical context that explains the reaction.

Can Merck beat the patent cliff?
This titan of the pharmaceutical industry stumbled into 2013 and continues to battle patent expirations and pipeline problems. Is Merck still a solid dividend play, or should investors be looking elsewhere? In a new premium research report on Merck, The Fool tackles all of the company’s moving parts, its major market opportunities, and reasons to both buy and sell. To find out more click here to claim your copy today.

var FoolAnalyticsData = FoolAnalyticsData || []; FoolAnalyticsData.push({ eventType: “TickerReportPitch”, contentByline: “Brenton Flynn“, contentId: “cms.23273”, contentTickers: “NYSE:MRK, NYSE:AZN”, contentTitle: “Merck Gains on Cholesterol Drug Hopes”, hasVideo: “True”, pitchId: “63”, …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Are Antibiotics Dead Weight for Johnson &amp; Johnson?

By Maxx Chatsko, The Motley Fool

Filed under:

Johnson & Johnson may offer well-known personal care products such as Listerine and Neutrogena, but it also boasts an impressive portfolio of market-leading therapeutic compounds. The health-care leader was one of the few to show growth in both worldwide pharmaceutical sales and earnings last year; they grew to $25 billion and $3.86 per share, respectively. The company finds itself in an enviable position heading into 2013 as one of the best-positioned companies to tackle the patent cliff head-on.

Even with the recent success, there is no time to rest on laurels in the highly competitive landscape of pharma and biotech. The industry’s most successful drugs are under constant pressure from generics, which are either already on the market, or timing their entrance for the moment exclusivity is lost. Luckily, 2012 showed that several new drugs are already shaping up to be critical driving forces in the company’s future. Today, we will look at the company’s fallen star Levaquin.

Does antibiotic mean anti-profit?
There is a common conception that antibiotics are not worth the time, effort, or costs associated with development. Of course, the industry’s infatuation with blockbuster drugs does little to curtail that opinion. In 2012, Johnson & Johnson’s infectious disease segment brought in $3.19 billion in worldwide sales, although it’s important to note that the segment includes antivirals and other non-antibiotic therapies.

Source: Johnson & Johnson

The segment grew a minuscule 0.16% during 2011. However, if we disregard the falling star Levaquin, it actually grew at a 21.6% clip — the fastest of any pharmaceutical revenue stream. HIV therapies Intelence and Prezista grew just enough to offset the decline of Levaquin.  

The bad news for antibiotics
You could say that cherry-picking sales data doesn’t prove or disprove anything — and you would be right. While there is favorable growth in anti-viral medicine, the outlook for antibiotics is not so great. I recently hinted at the dismal attitude around developing new antibiotics. Companies such as Abbott Laboratories  are more interested in diagnosing infections than treating them. Even its pharmaceutical spinoff AbbVie has a pipeline devoid of antibiotics, choosing instead to focus on anti-virals. 

Other than Johnson & Johnson, the only other members of Big Pharma pursuing antibiotics or anti-infectious drugs are the ailing AstraZeneca and GlaxoSmithKline . Whether or not the poor outlooks for the two will jeopardize the future of their respective infectious disease businesses remains to be seen.

Dead weight or opportunity?
It may be difficult to believe, but Levaquin had peak sales of $1.6 billion, and represented 6.4% of total pharmaceutical revenue for Johnson & Johnson in 2007. It’s not alone: Zithromax from Pfizer nearly touched $2 billion in peak sales within the last decade, although it, too, has fallen from grace. Are these antibiotics flukes or examples of how to be successful?  

To say that antibiotics cannot be blockbusters is a bit misguided. As long as …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Can Anything Stop Johnson &amp; Johnson?

By Brenton Flynn, The Motley Fool

Filed under:

Shares of Johnson & Johnson hit a new all-time high yesterday and have continued upward today, despite some negative news for the company last night. It was denied FDA approval for the acute coronary syndrome indication of its blood thinning drug Xarelto.

In this video, Motley Fool health-care bureau chief Brenton Flynn tells investors why this highlights a very difficult and very expensive trend for Big Pharma, but also points out that a company as large and diversified as Johnson & Johnson can weather the blow much more easily than some of the smaller players.

Is bigger really better?
Involved in everything from baby powder to biotech, Johnson & Johnson’s critics are convinced that the company is spread way too thin. If you want to know if J&J is nothing but a bloated corporate whale — or a well-diversified giant that’s perfect for your portfolio — check out the Fool’s new premium report outlining the Johnson & Johnson story in terms that any investor can understand. Claim your copy by clicking here now.

var FoolAnalyticsData = FoolAnalyticsData || []; FoolAnalyticsData.push({ eventType: “TickerReportPitch”, contentByline: “Brenton Flynn“, contentId: “cms.21608”, contentTickers: “NYSE:PFE, NYSE:JNJ, NYSE:BMY”, contentTitle: “Can Anything Stop Johnson & Johnson?”, hasVideo: “True”, pitchId: “121”, …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Thinking Smaller Is Big for Big Pharma

By Keith Speights, The Motley Fool

Filed under:

Do good things come in small packages for big pharma? Most of investors’ attention is given to blockbuster drugs and drugs that have the potential to be blockbusters. Should we be thinking smaller, though?

I explored the impact of blockbuster drugs on several big pharmaceutical companies recently and concluded that investors should pay more attention to the lesser drugs in companies’ portfolios. My Foolish colleague Brian Orelli had a similar message in one his recent articles. Brian’s premise is that the blockbuster model is breaking. He cautioned that investors need to prepare for a largely post-blockbuster world in pharma.

With all of this in mind, I decided to take a look at how big pharmas with more smaller-dollar drugs have fared and which companies seem best positioned for the future assuming blockbuster drugs become less important. Here’s what I found.

The power of “other”
Every pharmaceutical company plays up the success of their major money-making drugs. Most of them take pains to explain why the drugs achieved solid gains or experienced losses in a given time period. Drugs that aren’t bringing in as much revenue are listed but don’t typically receive much attention. Then there’s the group of drugs that aren’t even mentioned by name. These drugs are lumped together in an “other” category.

My focus was these “other” drugs. With so many big pharma companies losing revenue from blockbuster drugs going off patent, I suspected that the ones with more of the “other” lower-dollar drugs would tend to perform better. The thought was that having a solid revenue stream from a large mix of lesser drugs could help cushion some of the blow from the patent cliff and therefore lead to better stock performance. Was my hunch on target?

Source: Company 10-K reports and annual reports.

The above chart compares the two-year stock performance of several big pharmaceutical companies against the percentage that sales of “other drugs” made up of total 2012 revenue. The trend line shows what I expected: The stock performance for companies with more revenue from smaller drugs tended to outperform that of companies with less revenue from these drugs.

AstraZeneca had the second-lowest “other drug” revenue percentage and came in with the lowest two-year stock performance. Sanofi , Bristol-Myers Squibb , and Pfizer ranked at the top of the list in terms of other drugs as a percentage of total revenue. These three companies also were in the top four with respect to stock performance.

Eli Lilly jumps out as an outlier, though. The company actually ranked first for stock performance, with shares climbing 58% over the past two years. However, Lilly was in the bottom three for other drugs revenue. The perception that Lilly was a better buy could have been a factor in its outperforming the others in share gains. The company’s earnings yield was consistently higher over the past couple of years than Sanofi’s or Bristol’s.

Wagging the long tail?<br …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance