Kieger Healthcare Discussion of the Month

Did you know that antibiotic resistance is one of the biggest public health threats of our time? And yet it is often overlooked by healthcare companies and investors. Every year, approximately 700,000 people die from antibiotic resistance and, by 2050, this number could reach 10 million if no action is taken according to the UN.

Healthcare returned -3.2% in June, extending its year-to-date outperformance versus global equities to 10.2%. In June, central banks were in the limelight as hopes that inflation had peaked were again crushed. The FED then proceeded with its largest rate hike since 1994 – hinting of another hefty 75 bp increase in July. Ditto for the ECB, which confirmed a 25 bp hike for July. And even the Swiss National Bank surprised markets with its first hike (50 bp) in 15 years. These central bank actions and ongoing worries of a FED-induced soft landing caused global equities to drop 8.7% in June.

We attended the 43th annual Goldman Sachs Healthcare Conference 2022 from June 13th to 16th in Los Angeles, where we focussed mostly on Medtech and Service companies. We came away convinced that the healthcare sector will once again prove its defensive qualities as the dynamics of the healthcare market are less affected by the current macroeconomic backdrop.