Class of 2007 Abstract / Objectives: The purpose of this study is to assess various measures of profitability within the pharmaceutical sector amount Fortune 500 firms from 1955-2005. The objective of this investigation is to compare accounting based measures of return (Profit as a % of revenue), economic rates of return (Tobin’s Q), and abnormal rates of return (Stock market value via the Single Index Market Model). Methods: This study will be a descriptive retrospective study of Fortune 500 drug company’s abnormal rates of return. Data for this study was collected from the Fortune 500 database beginning in 1955 and continuing through 2005. For each year, pharmaceutical manufactures with a NAICS or SIC code of 325412 or 2834, were included. The accounting metrics examined were total return to investors (TRI), earnings per share (EPS), and profit as a percent of stockholder’s equity, revenue, and assets. Results: The preliminary results of this trial report an average approximate Q from 1955-2005 of 2.77 +/- 1.77. Furthermore, correlation between Q and all accounting values was positive, except for EPS (-0.047). Conclusions: The preliminary results of this study indicate the important role that approximate Q plays in evaluating profitability and the “true” value of selected firms. The overall approximate Q in this study has a significant correlation to the published values of the same sector and illustrates important trends in the pharmaceutical manufacturing market. These results support and also conflict with current literature. Further analysis will be performed and is warranted to validate the findings from this study and describe the relationship between abnormal returns and the profitability proxies used in this preliminary analysis.

Thesis (M.B.A.)--Boston University / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / 2031-01-01

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin, 1950. / Typescript. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 430-452).

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1969. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

No description available.

No description available.

Thesis (Ph. D.)(Information Science)--University of Pretoria, 2002. / Available on the Internet via the World Wide Web.

Class of 2005 Abstract / Objectives: To quantify the initial short-term market response of product liability litigation in appellate courts against vaccine manufacturers between 1987 and 2003. Methods: This project used a retrospective data analysis. The study analyzed appellate court decision found searching the legal research section of Lexis-Nexis® between 1987 and 2003. A single index market model was used to examine an event window of (-1, +1) and calculate a cumulative abnormal return for one of three categories; outcome in favor of the plaintiff, outcome in favor of the defense, or case dismissal. Results: Overall, this study investigated vaccine-related litigation. Thirty-three lawsuits were found involving 12 separate parent companies and ultimately lead to 82 separate incidences. A majority of the cases involved litigation concerning thimerisol (n =12, 36%). Following inclusion and exclusion criteria for the appellate court rulings, 9 cases were in favor of plaintiff, 10 cases were in favor of the defense, and 14 cases were dismissed. Appellate rulings favoring the plaintiffs were found to be negative and statistically significant, with cumulative abnormal returns equaling -1.39% during the (-1,+1) event window (p < 0.05). The mean cumulative abnormal returns for rulings favoring the defense or case dismissals were statistically insignificant at 0.49% and -0.29%, respectively Implications: Product liability litigation against vaccine manufacturers can produce significant negative short-term security price returns, which can be a disincentive for corporations to invest in vaccine development and production.

No description available.

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