Biopharma's remarkable rush to address the global health crisis posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the impact of the virus on bottom lines, will be a central theme the upcoming second quarter sales and earnings reporting season – with investors and the public particularly keen to hear about the trajectory or commercial prospects for treatments or vaccines for COVID-19. But big pharma is a big business, and there are plenty of other updates worth listening for when second quarter earnings kick off on 16 July with Johnson & Johnson.
A new long-term risk for the pharmaceutical industry is looming on the horizon if US unemployment and a corresponding loss of private health insurance persists. Drug makers are starting to think about how high rates of US unemployment could impact their 2021 financial forecasts, as reimbursement could shift from the more profitable private payers to Medicaid. (Also see "US Unemployment Looms As A Threat To Pharma, But More Impact In 2021" - Scrip, 8 May, 2020.) Some drugs are more exposed to the risk than others. Medicaid reimburses drugs differently than employer-based private health insurance and requires inflationary rebates that particularly impact larger, more mature franchises. While the US unemployment rate improved in June to 11
