Stocking Up, But No Bomb Shelter
George
W. Bush would be proud of my wife, as she’s been out doing
her best to jumpstart the economy. Whether she’s buying flashlights, water,
canned food or duct tape, the President would be glad to hear we’ve been doing
our part.
Like many of you, we
have been taking some precautions and stocking up on reasonable provisions (no
AK-47s, gas masks or cyanide capsules) that can be useful in non-terrorist
calamities such as a tornado or heavy snowfall that occasionally plague Chicago.
With that as the
backdrop, many of you have written asking about various drug companies and
whether we see any interesting possibilities. Therefore, here are some thoughts
on that sector and a small group that we’re keeping our eyes on:
Outside of Bayer
AG
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plethora of drug makers that could be beneficiaries of increased spending due to
the focus on combating, or dealing with, bioterrorism.
In fact, last week New York Senator Charles Schumer was pushing for generic
Cipro, a move that boosted several generic manufacturers. Among that group, we’re
following Teva Pharmaceutical
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and Par Pharmaceuticals
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Two
other possibilities are BioReliance
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BREL does contract pharmaceutical manufacturing and research and we believe
could be called on to help meet demand for Cipro and other drugs or vaccines.
ACAM stands to benefit from production of smallpox vaccines, and if they cannot
meet timetables set by Health & Human Services, they may work with Bater
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perhaps even BREL.