Firms that meet quality standards will not be able to routinely produce drugs that are “essentially a copy of a marketed drug,” language important to drug manufacturers, writes Jill Wechsler for Pharmaceutical Technology.
Kapitall points to three biotech and drug manufacturers with FDA-approved drugs that stand to benefit from the new legislation: Forest Laboratories (NYSE: FRX), which develops, manufactures, and sells branded and generic ethical drug products; Allergen (NYSE: AGN), which operates as a speciality healthcare company; and Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY), which develops and delivers medicines that help fight serious diseases.
Looking at XPH’s holdings, FRX is 3.8%, AGN is 3.5% and BMY is 4.0%.
Other pharmaceutical ETFs include:
- PowerShares Dynamic Pharmaceuticals Portfolio (NYSEArca: PJP): up 48.3% year-to-date; FRX is 3.2%; AGN is 2.8%; BMY is 5.8%
- iShares U.S. Pharmaceuticals ETF (NYSEArca: IHE): up 37.0% year-to-date; FRX is 2.9%; AGN is 4.2%; BMY is 7.1%
- Market Vectors Pharmaceutical ETF (NYSEArca: PPH): up 31.8% year-to-date; FRX is 2.3%; AGN is 4.4%; BMY is 5.5%
- RBS Global Big Pharma ETN (NYSEArca: DRGS): up 27.4% year-to-date; FRX is 3.2%
For more information on the pharma sector, visit our pharmaceuticals category.
Max Chen contributed to this article.