Abbot also stated it will not focus on mergers and acquisitions in the near future, Reuters reports.
“I just don’t see M&A right now as a high priority…. You make a much higher return on your organic growth,” Chief Executive Officer Miles White said on a conference call, adding that he did not see gaps right now that could be filled by M&A.
The unenthusiastic M&A outlook in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical may have also put pressure on biotech names, with the SPDR S&P Biotech ETF (NYSEArca: XBI) down 1.7% and the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (NASDAQGM: IBB) 1.1% lower Wednesday.
Further weighing on the healthcare segment, Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) and Merck (NYSE: MRK) retreated after Wall Street downgraded the companies on increased competition and pending patent cliff, CNBC reports.
“Xeljanz, Ibrance, Xtandi, Eliquis and Tafamidis totaling $20 billion of sales (about 30 percent of total revenue in 2015) all lose patent protection from 2025 to 2029 and our valuation blend of discounted cash flow and price per earnings does not ignore this dynamic,” UBS’ pharmaceuticals analyst Navin Jacob said in a note.
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