Pharma's future

It's hardly news that the pharma group is in a near-term funk. The clear and present danger from generics - which will be accelerating, not dissipating - has nearly rendered the big pharma group dead money for 2002. Five of the top 15 pharma companies are expected to have their earnings contract this year, and generics, coupled with lower rates of growth for existing products, goes a long way towards explaining that phenomenon.

Indeed, the top 15 pharma companies have lost over a quarter of their value - $396 billion - since the end of 2000 and now stand valued at $1.4 trillion. ...