Better Growth Play: Merck or The Vanguard Growth Index Fund?
The pharmaceutical industry is currently grappling with a major investment problem. Since 2004, the shares of most major pharmaceutical companies have been lagging behind the S&P 500. A few exceptions to this trend do exist. Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk, for example, have benefited from the breakout commercial success of their new weight loss drugs, causing their share prices to soar.
Still, the overall performance of big pharma stocks over the past two decades can only be described as lackluster. The primary reason for this underperformance is the increasing risk associated with the big pharma business model.
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Source Fool.com
