A wave of disappointing third-quarter results and clinical trial failures by the largest biotechs in late October 2017 signaled to some the start of another market swoon, akin to the one that dented share prices starting in late 2015 through 2016.
“Biotech Heads for Worst Slump Since 2015 After Disappointing Earnings,” predicted a Bloomberg headline on an October 26, 2017 story that followed a week of largely bad news. While Amgen and Celgene led the parade of bearish biotech news, investors were also rattled by President Donald Trump’s renewal of his on-again, off-again verbal volleys against prescription drug prices: “We want to bring our prices down to what other countries are paying, or at least close,” Trump told reporters October 16 (See 3:18 of the clip), adding: “The drug companies, frankly, are getting away with murder.”
