Robotic Surgery: Meet Intuitive Surgical
September 18, 2008
In 1985 the PUMA 560 was released and was used to place a needle for a brain 
biopsy using Computed Topography guidance. Many at first were quite skeptical, but it was a very exciting time for the healthcare medical industry. The long-term outlook looked promising; however, with a brand new concept coming into the market, were patients willing to leave their lives up to computers? Read more
Thermo Fisher: Not Just a Dollar Play
September 16, 2008
Since 2002, investors have fallen in love with companies offering strong international exposure. Foreign exchange benefits have helped the healthcare sector shrug off years of low single digit organic growth. But the rest of the world is slowing down and the dollar has rallied in recent weeks. European policy makers have made plans to follow the path of the United States by cutting lending rates. This means a lot of companies with attractive international exposure will be thrown away as top-line gains become losses. Read more
The Pros and Cons of Owning Mylan
September 10, 2008
Mylan Inc [MYL: 9.86, 0.00 (0.00%)] announced on Monday 9/08/08 their plans to retain their specialty business Dey Inc. instead of selling it in a bidding process they expected to end by December. Last year Mylan bought Merck KGaa generics division in October for $7 billion in cash. Dey Inc, a specialty business focused on respiratory and allergy drugs was part of that deal. In February of this year, Mylan announced they were planning to sell Dey because their big drug Perforomist was not reaching Read more
FDA Slow to Approve Drugs, For Now
September 5, 2008
After Merck took its painkiller Vioxx off of store shelves in 2005, both regulators and the pharmaceutical industry came under harsh criticism for putting the product on the market. Later that year, Glaxo-Smith-Kline’s Avandia helped fan the flames. Studies showed a higher risk of heart attack for people who take the drug versus those receiving a placebo. As a result the FDA approved just 17 new molecular entities (NME’s) last year which was the fewest in 24 years. They continue to request Read more
The “Big Pharma Effect”
August 22, 2008
I have not been the first nor will be the last to point out the troubles of Big Pharma; however, how can you as an investor take advantage of the weak sub-sector and transfer your investments to another attractive area of Healthcare that will be reaping the benefits? In this article, I will point an attractive industry that will be benefiting from what I like to call, the Big Pharma Effect. Read more
Healthcare’s Appetite for Acquistions
August 11, 2008
Healthcare, more specifically Pharma is showing an appetite for deal making as four major companies are courting potential acquisitions. This hunger signals a change in the environment as signs of consolidation surface. If we look at this year’s activity, IPOs were at an all time low and the majority of the sectors did not see much M&A activity. The Healthcare sector, most specifically Biotechnology and Pharmaceuticals saw a burst of M&A interest in the past month. Read more
Diversify into Health Care with Stryker
August 3, 2008
Tides from last years credit crunch have left investors running 
to safeguard their portfolio as the global economy weakens and the U.S. economy flirts with the possibility of recession. The health care sector is often looked at as a recessionary proof industry, however, the industrial environment is posing its own challenges. Read more
Earnings Recap: Becton Dickinson, Health Care’s Safe Bet
July 25, 2008
The word on the street is that big pharma is hurting and investors maybe wondering where t
hey can see growth. I personally enjoy the investing challenges health care presents, it just means more research and better timing to find the diamonds in the rough. Do not get me wrong, big pharma is not bad, in fact most companies are expanding their reach by acquiring small biologic shops or seeking fruitful deals to grow in the generic drug Read more
Big Pharma Hurting…What about Abbott?
July 25, 2008
So Big Pharma is hurting? Well, Standard & Poor’s does estimate that patent expiration losses in 2008 will exceed $20 billion. I cannot even remember the last time Merck got something approved or did not report poor results from a clinical trial. Does Pfizer have a strategy going forward to make up for the loss of Read more
The New Generic Giant, Teva Acquires Barr
July 22, 2008
The health care sector is seeing a flurry of activity lately as industry players are looking for strategic acquisitions to help keep steady inflows of cash as approval rates drop and more drugs spend a longer time in the pipeline. The latest news comes from the Read more
 
|
 Receive our "Election Proofing Your Portfolio" report for no cost when you sign up to our newsletter to receive our updates. Don't worry, we hate spam too! |
Editor's Picks
Popular Posts
Recent Posts
