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Industry Report Card: U.S. Corporate Health Care Jan 05
Standard & Poors, Jan 2005
Abstract
As we move into 2005, pharmaceutical company woes continue to contribute to a depressed credit mood in the corporate health care sector. Among the issues facing the industry are patent expirations, unproductive drug development programs, product liability litigation, and the uncertain FDA response to recent product safety issues. About half of all negative rating outlooks in corporate health care are now assigned to pharmaceutical companies, and about half of the corporate health care firms Standard & Poor's Ratings Services downgraded in 2004 were drug firms. The high-profile rating cuts on Schering-Plough Corp., Bristol-Myers Squibb Inc., and Merck & Co. Inc. show the vulnerabilities of even the major drug companies to shortfalls in their research and development efforts. Smaller pharmaceutical companies...
Standard and Poors RatingsXpress Credit Research provides in-depth coverage of international corporates, financial institutions, insurance companies, utilities, sovereigns and structured finance programs. RatingsXpress Credit Research lets users determine the credit rating of holdings and identify key factors underlying an issuer's creditworthiness, distinguishes the different risk exposures for new and existing deals, and provides an understanding of how their analysts interpret key regulatory, political and environmental events and their economic impact.
Research Type: Commentary
Criteria articles describe the thought process and methodology Standard & Poor's analysts use in determining ratings. These commentary pieces discuss both the quantitative (economic and financial) and qualitative (business analysis and caliber of management) aspects of the analysis, as well as legal issues.
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