The accompanying table includes statistics and the top 20 rated companies in the ETF Innovators [ETFI] Global Health Innovators Index of companies with market caps over $250M which received FDA approval in the trailing 12-month period for either an original new drug product or medical device. The index includes companies which get approvals for drugs or biological agents classified as new chemical entities (i.e. excluding reformulations of existing drugs, generic drugs, and label extensions for existing products). Also, companies which receive original PMA approvals for new medical devices are included in the index, excluding the less rigorous and more numerous 510(k) applications.
The goal of the index is to track the performance of companies which are developing innovative new drugs and medical devices to see whether their investment in R&D pays off in the form of better stock price performance compared to benchmark ETFs for pharma, biotech, medical devices, and the overall healthcare sector. The top 20 rated companies fared better than all six benchmark ETFs, including the Healthcare SPDR (XLV), Pharma HOLDRs (PPH), and iShares Medical Devices (IHI). Only two companies managed to post gains over the past year, including ViroPharma (VPHM) and Thoratec (THOR), with Amgen (AMGN) very close behind with a 1% decline.
The goal of the index is to track the performance of companies which are developing innovative new drugs and medical devices to see whether their investment in R&D pays off in the form of better stock price performance compared to benchmark ETFs for pharma, biotech, medical devices, and the overall healthcare sector. The top 20 rated companies fared better than all six benchmark ETFs, including the Healthcare SPDR (XLV), Pharma HOLDRs (PPH), and iShares Medical Devices (IHI). Only two companies managed to post gains over the past year, including ViroPharma (VPHM) and Thoratec (THOR), with Amgen (AMGN) very close behind with a 1% decline.
$48.75 (11/23/08)
