Tag: RHHBY

  • La Roche Caught Lying

    La Roche Caught Lying

    Hoffmann-La Roche Caught Lying
    La Roche defrauded U.S. federal and state governments for $1.5 billion. The company was lying that its influenza drug Tamiflu was effective at preventing potential pandemics.

    Drug company La Roche (OTCMKTS: RHHBY) cheated U.S. federal and state governments out of $1.5 billion. The company was falsifying clinical studies and incorrectly declaring that its influenza medicine Tamiflu was effective at suppressing potential pandemics. That is stated in recently unsealed court documents.

    The lawsuit alleges the La Roche company by publishing misleading articles incorrectly affirming that Tamiflu can reduce complications, mortality, and transmission of influenza, mislead the public and regulators. The problem is that the company used those articles for aggressive marketing. Its goal was to assure the US federal and state governments that Tamiflu is efficient for pandemic use. 

    Governments spent around $1.5 billion to stockpile Tamiflu

    According to the complaint, governments spent around $1.5 billion to stock with Tamiflu in good faith to Roche’s claims. But Hoffmann-La Roche caught lying about Tamiflu.

    The lawsuit comes under the False Claims Act. According to this Act, individuals can bring claims on behalf of the government. It is stated in the lawsuit that the reimbursement is seeking in the name of taxpayers whose funds were spent on buying Tamiflu. The governments bought tens of millions of units of Tamiflu for the Strategic National Stockpile and spent, from 2005 $1,5 billion for that. 

    Possible penalties

    Roche could pay judgment bellow $4.5 billion but this one, the False Claims Act requires payment of triple damages, and civil penalties are added.
    The whistleblower is Dr. Thomas Jefferson, a doctor and public health researcher in the global Cochrane Collaboration research network.
    He has researched inhibitors and among them, Tamiflu also. He works in this field over the past twenty years. When he started to examine Tamiflu’s efficacy in 2009 he demanded from the company to release the underlying clinical study data. Dr. Thomas Jefferson got data four years after. It was 2013 when he realized that Tamiflu’s effectiveness didn’t fit Roche’s statements about the use in an influenza pandemic, the lawsuit states.

    To make this more unbelievable, as early as 2000 the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) analyzed Roche’s data about clinical trials of Tamiflu and warned the company that data showed different effectiveness than Roche claimed. Moreover, the FDA found that Tamiflu gives a small benefit of reducing the duration of flu symptoms but the drug isn’t able to prevent transmission nor infection. Hence, the FDA also warned Roche that its statement was misleading.

    The lawsuit declares that Roche was aware that Tamiflu is an inefficient drug for resisting influenza pandemics. Yet, Roche marketed this medicine to fill Roche’s account at taxpayers’ expense. 

    Hoffmann-La Roche caught lying a long time ago

    This drug was originally produced as an answer to seasonal influenza. But the competition was great and Roche wasn’t satisfied with the revenue the drug generated. So, they started to promote Tamiflu as neuraminidase inhibitors, which are intended to prevent clinically relevant influenza virus strains from spreading inside the body. But the data was false.

    Almost six years ago The Guardian reported about how Tamiflu is efficient. At that time, the Cochrane Collaboration, a not-for-profit consortium of 14,000 academics and researchers who periodically examine the medical literature to assess the safety and effectiveness of various treatments. obtained all data despite Roche’s willingness to withhold the results of its clinical trials.

    By having the data, the Cochrane Collaboration has found that Tamiflu has little or no impact on problems of flu infection, for example, it couldn’t prevent pneumonia.

    In December 2009, the British medical journal (BMJ wrote about an investigation that proved that Tamiflu couldn’t prevent serious complications or death in people that have the flu. At that time, the British medical journal suggested that Roche, the Swiss company that produces and sells Tamiflu, has misled governments and doctors.

    Roche has claimed that its medicine decreases hospital admissions by 61% in patients who were healthy before they got the flu. It has also claimed that Tamiflu reduces complications like bronchitis, pneumonia, and sinusitis by 67%, and lower respiratory tract infections requiring antibiotics by 55%. All lies.

    Still unrevealed

    Who can answer the question of why governments all over the world have invested $3 billion in one year, according to the investment bank, JP Morgan, from the emergence of H1N1 in spring 2008 to the end of 2009, for a drug that is not efficient.  

    Tamiflu’s luck began in 2003, after the SARS outbreak and the emergence of bird flu. And governments started to pile up the drug in a fear of pandemic.

    Roche Holding AG Stock (ROG.SW), (OTCMKTS: RHHBY)

    Despite the mentioned scandal with Tamiflu and lawsuits, Roche Holding AG stock seems to be a good long-term investment. RHHBY (ROG.SW) could be a profitable investment option if you are looking for stocks with good returns. 

    La Roche historical stock price chart

    The stock traded at a bit above $41 on January 14 this year. Experts anticipate that RHHBY could go above $73 in the next five years. But the whole pharma sector isn’t in such a good position right now. Especially, European pharmaceuticals.
    The interesting thing, Bank of America anticipates European stocks to rise this year. But with the exception of the pharmaceutical sector.
    The pharma stocks, related to the broad market, move in the opposite course to U.S. bond yields. So if yields rise (the Bank of America expects it will) then the pharmaceutical sector should be damaged. But also, there are some other problems for this sector too. It is its sensitivity to the dollar. It is normal because 40% of the sector’s sales come from the U.S. With the reduction in trade tensions between the US and China, it is expected for the US dollar to weaken.

    If we put all of this together, the European drug sector could underperform the broader index by 13% over six months. Maybe some influence could have a reducing drug price. But we will not bet on it. It’s better to put it on a political field not financial.

    Bottom line

    The analysts have issued 12-month target prices for Roche Holding Ltd. Genussscheine’s shares. Their forecasts are from CHF 225 to CHF 375. On average, they anticipate Roche share price to reach CHF 318.17 in the next year. 

    Twelve Wall Street analysts have issued “buy,” “hold,” and “sell” ratings for Roche Holding Ltd. in the last year. Currently, there are 2 sell ratings, 2 hold ratings and 8 buy ratings for this stock. So, a consensus recommendation is “Buy.” After the last lawsuit that alleges the Hoffmann-La Roche company was incorrectly affirming that Tamiflu can reduce complications and death in people with flu, everything is possible. The company can be punished by investors and they may start hard selling. That will decrease the stock price. Since things work that way in the market, some other investors will see the opportunity to buy more at a lower price.

     

  • Pharmaceutical stocks – Risk and Reward Of Investing In

    Pharmaceutical stocks – Risk and Reward Of Investing In

    Pharmaceutical stocks - Risk and Reward Of Investing In
    The pharmaceutical stocks belong to the larger healthcare sector.
    With faster drug approvals and increasing customers, investing in pharmaceutical stocks could be a good choice.

    Pharmaceutical stocks increased in 2019. The best pharmaceutical stocks have strong Composite Ratings and Relative Strength Ratings. That recommends buying them.
    As we can see the healthcare industry will only intensify. The new technologies are developed or in the phase of developing with good predictions to get approvals for use. This industry will continue with modernization, it is obvious.
    The increasing development of tech in healthcare also will give new chances for the industry. Prescript medicine sales CAGR from 2019 to 2024 is set to be three times that in the period from 2010 to 2018.|
    The forecast annual CAGR of +6.9% for the next 5 years is $1.18trn in the US.

    Pharmaceutical stocks to diversify the investment portfolio 

    Investors who want to diversify their investment portfolios would do well to look at the pharmaceutical stocks.

    Pharmaceutical stocks are high-risk investments, but companies from the industry can be very good for investors seeking long-term investing. The changes in this field, almost on a daily basis, approval of new treatments, new drugs and therapies, great returns, make this industry favorable for investors. It shows profitable opportunities.

    If you want to invest in publicly traded pharmaceutical companies, just keep a close eye on them when they enter clinical trials. The results of clinical trials are extremely important for investing in pharmaceutical stocks. Why? Well, those trials can be ended with the make-it-further option or break it.
    The auspicious results can reach big gains in the stock market, but failures or loss of progress can have a reverse impact. 

    Approvals before market

    Before selling their products, drug companies are required to first test them. Results from pharmaceutical products are sent to the relevant government organizations or agencies to examine the safety, proposed use, and efficacy.

    The approval means that they have analyzed the medication’s consequences and that there are more positive than negative effects. There are various approval stages: analyzing the disease the drug is targeting, treatment options, analyzing effects from clinical trials and how to handle any risks linked with the drug or method.

    Since there is a lot of examinations, the approval can take years.

    Well, drug approvals are possibly the most attractive in pharmaceutical stocks investment opportunities. They are always on the radar. New drugs are innovation on the market, especially when it gets to rare diseases. 

    For example, during 2018, the US FDA’s CDER approved 59 new pharmaceuticals. Among approved medications were the first to treat smallpox and the first treatment for hypophosphatemia. Over the first 6 months of 2019, the approvals got 16.

    All this taken together, represent the excellent market conditions for pharmaceutical companies.

    Pharmaceutical stocks: the trends

    In the pharmaceutical market currently exist 10 main therapeutic sectors, which shows data from Statista.
    The global sales for medicines generated a total revenue of US$36 billion. The top sales go to pain therapy, anti-diabetic drugs, and oncology.
    In terms of revenue, pain therapy generates sales of $79 billion, anti-diabetic drugs $40 billion, and oncologic $100 billion.
    Treatments and drugs for depressive disorder and anxiety also generate greater revenue. For example, Eli Lilly Company (NYSE:LLY) reached $36 billion in revenue this year.
    The main fields of developing new therapies or drugs, so far this year, were treatments for non-small cell lung cancer and breast cancer.

    Pharmaceutical stocks: market growth

    The global pharmaceutical market is ready for outstanding growth. Big and famous brands are always interesting but small and micro-cap stocks are good too.

    According to many reports, the industry reached $1.2 trillion in 2018, up to $100 billion from 2017. In the next 4 years, the market is predicted to grow at a compound annual growth rate between 4% and 5% and to reach $1.3 trillion. But this rate is less than between 2014 and 2018.

    Nevertheless, investing in pharmaceutical stocks could be a good addition to everyone’s portfolio. You don’t have to invest in leading pharmaceutical stocks, some are not as big as leaders but have great growth potential. And, they are cheaper, also.

    In the next 5 years, the sales volume in the pharmaceutical market is possible to reach $1.18 trillion. It looks like a great opportunity.

    Here are some Traders Paradise’s picks:

    Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK)

    The last price $91.58 (December, 20)
    Market Cap $233B

    Merck is rapidly growing, the CAGR is 10.9%.

    Merck & Co., Inc. offers therapeutic and preventive agents to treat a huge range of diseases such as cardiovascular, type 2 diabetes, chronic hepatitis C virus, HIV-1 infection, insomnia, neuromuscular blocking agents, cholesterol, anti-bacterial and vaginal contraceptive products. Also, the company is focused on products to prevent chemotherapy-induced and postoperative vomiting, treat non-small-cell lung, breasts, thyroid, cervical, and brain cancers, vaccines for measles, mumps, rubella, varicella, rotavirus gastroenteritis, and pneumococcal diseases. Additionally, the company produces antibiotics and anti-inflammatory drugs to treat fertility disorders, and pneumonia in cattle, bovine, and swine, and antibiotics and vaccines for fish, dog, cat, and horse vaccines, and many others. It has collaborations with many bio-pharmaceuticals companies. The company was founded in 1891 and is headquartered in Kenilworth, New Jersey.

    Roche Holding AG (RHHBY) (SIX:ROG)

    The last price $39.88 (December, 20)
    Market Cap $271B

    Roche Holding AG is the leading trend in biotechnology, with a forecasted $38.7bn of sales in 2024

    On December, 23 Roche announced that it entered a $1.15 billion worth licensing agreement with Sarepta Therapeutics to get the right to start and commercialize Sarepta’s investigational gene therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy outside the US.
    Roche will make a payment of $750 million in cash and $400 million worth in equity. Sarepta’s micro-dystrophin gene therapy SRP-9001 is in clinical development.
    Roche said the agreement is supposed to close in the first quarter of 2020.

    Eli Lilly & Co. (LLY)

    Last price $132.43 (December, 20)
    Market Cap $127B

    Lilly published a better-than-expected financial outlook for 2020 while confirming the previously announced 2019 sales and earnings plans. Lilly awaits adjusted earnings from $6.70 to $6.80 per share in a year ahead. Revenues are expected from $23.6bn to $24.1bn. If the company reaches this planned sales range, it will exceed its 7% revenue CAGR target. Lilly is expecting important results for several key pipeline drugs. Also, it awaits approvals for two new drugs and three new launches in the next year.

    Eli Lilly’s stock price has a rising tendency and it looks like a good long-term investment.

    Bottom line

    These stocks are just a suggestion. Of course, you may choose some other pharmaceutical stocks. For example, Pfizer Inc. (PFE) with Market Cap: $227.87 billion that generates an 18.7% annual return. Or Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) with a Market Cap of $375.67 billion. Zoetis Inc. (ZTS) can be a good investment choice with 17,7% of the annual return.

    If you are looking for long-term investment for your portfolio, investing in the pharmaceutical industry could be one of the best places to invest in.

    But be conscious, the overall performance for the industry was worse in 2018. The leading pharmaceutical sector market index (S&P Pharmaceuticals Select Industry Index) made negative returns of -16.87% last year. The index started at a closing value of 5,082 and ended at a value of 4,225 at the end of the year.

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