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Biotech / Medical : Biotech Valuation -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: tom pope who wrote (1402)	8/7/2000 3:22:38 PM
From: Biomaven	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 52153

The ML quant interview that Tom posted on this thread previously is now available in the free area of TSC: thestreet.com Some interesting points. One is the issue of competition in the techs - this has always been something that worries me. Sure CSCO is a great company (one, alas, that I've never owned) but its multiples may be saying that long-term nobody else is going to be playing successfully in its market. Of course in biotechs, barriers to entry are considerable. However, competition is still a significant issue - just how many cancer vaccines or psoriasis treatments can the market support? (One possible answer under the individualized treatment paradigm is "lots", but I'm not sure that's a message investors will ultimately be happy to hear). The other issue he addresses is the political drug price one. This of course hits the biotechs as well as the pharmas, although the biotechs are less vulnerable to the "back-door" price control of allowing importation from cheap foreign climes. (Although there might be some nasty issues where the biotech has given up the foreign rights and then someone tries to import cheaper product into the US. Of course the partner can't import themselves, but it's less clear if a retail pharmacy or wholesaler might be able to.) Peter