If there’s one pharma stock that’s been attracting a lot of attention lately, it’s Abbott Laboratories (ABT). If you take a look at the charts, it’s easy to see why Abbott’s been so popular; its share price has been constantly going up since April. As you can see below, Abbott has suffered none of the steep price drops that have hit competitors, such as AstraZeneca (AZN).

So is Abbott really worth $66.99, or is this just another case of irrational exuberance?

Humira Market Might Be Growing

Maybe not. An advisory panel to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has voted 15-2 to recommend the use of Abbott’s Humira to treat moderate to severe ulcerative colitis. The FDA has not yet ruled on the panel’s recommendations, but company spokeswoman Elizabeth Hoff told Bloomberg that she thinks this authorization might lead to $1 billion in additional Humira sales. There is certainly a huge potential market for this drug since as many as 700,000 people may suffer from ulcerative colitis in the United States.

This isn’t the only good news about Humira that Abbott has received in recent weeks. The European Commission has approved the use of the drug in more cases of Crohn’s disease. It is unclear how many new sales this will lead to because the commission has only approved the use of Humira in cases where other therapies have failed.Although all is not well in the world of Humira, FDA staff have questioned Humira’s effectiveness in some colitis cases.To continue reading, click here.