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Title: How Hillary Clinton crushed another rally in biotech
Source:
Market Watch
URL Source: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ho ... er-rally-in-biotech-2016-08-24
Published: Aug 25, 2016
Author: Mark Decambre
Post Date: 2016-08-25 15:39:22 by cranky
Keywords: None
Views: 366
Thanks a lot, Hillary! That is probably what investors in the biotech sector, and Mylan Inc. specifically, are saying after an ugly day for the health care sector on Wednesday. Shares of Mylan Inc. MYL, -1.37% ended the day with a 5.4% loss as criticism over the drugmaker’s decision to jack up the price of lifesaving EpiPens reached a crescendo, dragging the health-care sector and the broader market along with it. The S&P 500 SPX, -0.11% ended the day down 0.5%. Some are crediting Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, at least partially, for the selloff, which helped to drive the exchange-traded iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF IBB, -1.49% to its worst daily drop since June 24. The fund ended the day with a 3.4% loss at $286.23 a share. The ETF is down more than 15% for the year to date but is up 22% from its 52-week low set in January. Clinton issued a statement Wednesday calling on Mylan to “immediately reduce the price of EpiPens,” and tweeted that the medication can be the “difference between life and death.” EpiPens can be the difference between life and death. There's no justification for these price hikes. https://t.co/O6RbVR6Qim -H— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) August 24, 2016 Clinton’s comments came as a parade of other lawmakers expressed outrage over the price hikes. The Democratic presidential hopeful last weighed in on a kerfuffle over the price of medication in September, following the move by Turing Pharmaceuticals—formerly headed by Martin Shkreli—to raise the price of Daraprim by 5,000%. The drug is used to prevent life-threatening parasitic infections. Back then, Clinton referred to the Daraprim price hike as “price gouging” in a tweet and said she was rolling out a plan designed to eradicate abuses in health care, following an article in the New York Times that highlighted the price increase. The market’s reacted the by cratering. And that is exactly what they did again Wednesday. The following chart showing the performance of the IBB over the past eight months from Bespoke Investment Group depicts the moves best: Here’s what happens to the IBB when Clinton comments on health-care pricing. On Thursday, shares of Mylan were set to bounce back after the company said it was immediately taking action to cut the costs of EpiPens. 
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