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Stockwatch: The Victimization Of Big Biotech

Early Success In Biotech Raises An Almost Impossible Bar

 
• By Andy Smith

Alexion is a case study in the travails faced by a biotech with a single blockbuster as it tries to maintain its scale and transform itself into a sustainable business, without blowing billions on bad M&A.

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ANDY SMITH OFFERS A LIFE SCIENCE INVESTOR'S PERSPECTIVE ON BIOPHARMA BUSINESS

Less than a month after its first-quarter earnings release, Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. held a post-earnings corporate update call. For a stock that had until the update, significantly underperformed the NASDAQ Biotech Index (NBI) in the year to date, perhaps it was understandable that Alexion would want to redress that imbalance. However, for biotech companies that have tasted spectacular product success, repetition remains a most difficult second act.

When Alexion reported its first-quarter 2020 financial results in early May, its stock price finished the day down 1.4%. This...

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