Is healthcare investment really best left until after the US election?

Biotech has fallen

Since its peak in July 2015, the NASDAQ Biotechnology index has fallen, in dollar terms, by 30%, with much of this fall happening in the first two months of the year. Large US biotech companies are now exceptionally good value and the long-term growth prospects for the sector remain intact.

While the biotech sector was swept up in the negative market sentiment, concerns over the outlook for drug pricing in the US also played a role in the sector's re-rating. Both front-runners - Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump - have expressed concerns about the lack of competitive drug pricing. Investors are nervous new regulation will be introduced which will curtail drug companies' profit margins. While politicians might complain about problems with drug pricing, they have limited tools at their disposal to address this problem. Unlike Europe, the market is too fragmented to implemen...