Stockwatch: Big pharma looks on while Amgen splurges
This article was originally published in Scrip
Executive Summary
It’s been a number of years since the pharmaceutical sector was held in the same esteem by investors for industries that are defensive and counter-cyclical; sectors whose sales and earnings growth continue even in a recession and, like tobacco and gambling, may increase in spite of it. The pharmaceutical industry used to have no natural predators, except itself and time.