Woodford: Pharmaceuticals offer 'phenomenal value'

Opportunities in the pharmaceuticals sector continue to be overlooked, with "phenomenal value" on offer, Invesco Perpetual's Neil Woodford has said.

According to Woodford, the stock market has focused too heavily on the industry's challenges and bypassed the lucrative opportunities within the sector. Critics point to issues with drug patents, competition from generic alternatives, a lack of productivity from research and development bodies and pricing pressures in key markets in the West. However Woodford, who is overweight pharmaceuticals compared to peers in both his £11.2bn High Income and £8.8bn Income funds, disagreed. "In my opinion, many industries face much greater challenges in this age of austerity and many businesses...