Investing in pharmaceutical companies? The pipeline is key

A strong pipeline is all-important for pharmaceutical companies. We highlight the most interesting candidates.

Digital generated image of syringe and bottle
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Current profits are not necessarily the best guide to selecting pharmaceutical companies for investment. This is because earnings may reflect strong but temporary sales of blockbuster drugs that are unlikely to continue, either because the drugs are about to come off patent or because of a short peak in demand for drugs treating a temporary condition, such as an epidemic. In these and other cases, the strength of a company’s pipeline is more important than its recent profitability because the late-stage pipeline determines future sales and profits.

For example, if a company’s last set of results depended heavily on sales of a blockbuster drug that is about to come off patent, future profitability will suffer as generic drugs enter the market following the expiry of the patent, unless there are comparably profitable drugs emerging from the late-stage pipeline. Drug giants Pfizer and AbbVie illustrate these two points.

Subscribe to MoneyWeek

Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE

Get 6 issues free
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/mw70aro6gl1676370748.jpg

Sign up to Money Morning

Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter

Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter

Sign up
Dr Mike Tubbs

Highly qualified (BSc PhD CPhys FInstP MIoD) expert in R&D management, business improvement and investment analysis, Dr Mike Tubbs worked for decades on the 'inside' of corporate giants such as Xerox, Battelle and Lucas. Working in the research and development departments, he learnt what became the key to his investing; knowledge which gave him a unique perspective on the stock markets.

Dr Tubbs went on to create the R&D Scorecard which was presented annually to the Department of Trade & Industry and the European Commission. It was a guide for European businesses on how to improve prospects using correctly applied research and development. He has been a contributor to MoneyWeek for many years, with a particular focus on R&D-driven growth companies.