International Health Care ETF Gets a Booster Shot From Recommendations

June 26, 2008 at 11:00 am by Tom Lydon

Fluvaccine One of the international health care exchange traded funds (ETFs) is trading higher today after a few rounds of good news for some of its holdings.

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) benefited from a recommendation by the advisory committee for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which voted to include the company’s two newest pediatric vaccines in the childhood immunization program.

The first vaccine is for rotavirus, while the other protects against diptheria, tetanus, pertussis and polio – the first vaccine for all four diseases in one shot. GSK’s vaccine portfolio is among the most widely used in the United States, for both infants and adults.

Moody’s confirmed the "Aa1" issuer rating for Takeda Pharmaceutical in Japan, based on expectations that the company will maintain strong financial flexibility, reports Thomson Financial.

Novartis also was boosted by an upgrade, reports Val Brickates Kennedy for MarketWatch.

The WisdomTree International Health Care (DBR) has been trading above 3% so far today, but is down 6.5% year-to-date. GSK is 9.5%, Novartis is 6.9% and Takeda is 3.4%.

The iShares S&P Global Healthcare (IXJ) is down slightly in early trading. GSK is 5.6% and Novartis is 6.6%. The fund is down 11.7% year-to-date.