Traders Flee Pharma Junk Bonds as Price Scandal Engulfs Industry
- Scrutiny spreads past $750-a-pill move by Shkreli's Turing
- Lawmakers pump `fear into sector'; new deals await fate
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Pharmaceutical companies are emerging as the latest pocket of sorrow in the beleaguered junk-bond market as a renewed public debate on drug-pricing tactics unnerves investors.
Bonds sold by companies from Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. to Endo International Plc and Concordia Healthcare Corp. have underperformed the broader junk-debt gauge, Bloomberg bond index data show. That comes at an inopportune time for companies like Concordia and Sucampo Pharmaceuticals Inc., which are marketing more than $2 billion of loans to finance acquisitions.