The pharmaceutical industry’s expansion is being propelled by factors like improved healthcare accessibility and advancements in nanotechnology and generative AI for drug discovery. Therefore, I believe value investors could consider pharma stocks Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK – Get Rating), Astellas Pharma Inc. (ALPMY – Get Rating), and Taro Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (TARO – Get Rating), which seems to be trading at a discount.
The growing aging population and chronic diseases fuel the pharma industry’s growth. Moreover, the improvements in purchasing power and access to quality healthcare for poor and middle-class families worldwide also are driving the development of the global pharma industry.
The global pharmaceutical manufacturing market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 11.3% until 2028.
Moreover, the expanding nanomedicine applications due to technological advancements in nanotechnology are driving the global nanomedicine market. Governmental and corporate institutions have increased their study into nanotechnology, and there has been an increase in the application of this technology in experiments to treat various chronic conditions.
Brainy Insights estimates that the nanomedicine market will reach $396.15 billion by 2031.
Also, continuous advancements in artificial intelligence, including deep learning and machine learning techniques, enhance the capabilities of generative AI in drug discovery. These advancements enable more accurate predictions, efficient optimization, and improved generation of drug candidates.
Therefore, the generative AI in drug discovery market is poised to grow at a CAGR of 27.1% until 2032.
Let’s discuss the stocks mentioned above in detail:
Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK – Get Rating)
MRK operates as a healthcare company worldwide. It operates through two segments, Pharmaceutical and Animal Health.
On July 25, 2023, MRK declared a quarterly dividend of $0.73 per share of the company’s common stock for the fourth quarter of 2023, payable on October 6, 2023.
MRK pays $2.92 annually as dividends which translates to a yield of 2.78% at the current price. Its four-year average dividend yield is 2.95%.
On July 21, 2023, MRK announced that the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) had recommended the approval of gefapixant, an investigational, non-narcotic, oral selective P2X3 receptor antagonist, developed for the treatment for adults with refractory or unexplained chronic cough.
The CHMP’s recommendation will now be reviewed by the European Commission (EC) for marketing authorization in the European Union (EU), and a final decision is expected later this year.
