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Manulife (MFC) Enhances Product Suite With New Medicine Program

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Manulife Financial Corporation’s (MFC - Free Report) Manulife Canada recently announced the launch of its Personalized Medicine Program for Extended Health Care members, qualifying some conditions at no extra cost. This genetic test done via saliva, also known as pharmacogenomics, helps identify if a medicine will prove to be effective or not. This will aid healthcare practitioners in personalizing treatments for patients, thereby reducing side effects and improving the probability of successful outcomes.

This move bodes well for Manulife as it enhances its product suite for enhanced healthcare members. This builds on Manulife’s objective of becoming a true health partner for its members. MFC is expanding its Canada segment, whose New Business value was up 29% in the second quarter due to higher margins in all business lines. New business growth in Canada has been aiding the company’s operational results. The company introduced Manulife Vitality and several mental health tools and resources in the second quarter to aid Canadian employers in serving their employees.

Following the launch of its new medicine program, health providers can anticipate how people respond to certain medications and identify their unique needs. Patients will benefit from the reduced stress of the trial-and-error process, thereby improving patient outcomes. Since the trial-and-error process hurts the insurer’s earnings, a more efficient treatment plan for patients is expected to reduce unnecessary costs and improve earnings.

The Personalized Medicine Program will be available to members and dependents with any conditions such as mental health, chronic pain, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and neurological conditions. This program has been in a pilot stage since 2021 and has reaped positive outcomes, with 80% of members changing their medications per requirement and 86% of members experiencing improved mental health.

Zacks Rank & Price Performance

Manulife currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Shares of the company have lost 8.9% in the past six months compared with the industry’s decline of 5%.

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Key Picks

Some better-ranked stocks from the broader Finance space are Employers Holdings, Inc. (EIG - Free Report) , Trupanion, Inc. (TRUP - Free Report) and Aflac Incorporated (AFL - Free Report) . Each of these companies presently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

The consensus mark for Employers Holdings’ current-year earnings indicates a 10.2% year-over-year increase. Furthermore, the consensus estimate for EIG’s revenues in 2023 suggests 20.5% year-over-year growth.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Trupanion’s current-year earnings has improved 9.2% in the past 30 days. Also, the consensus mark for TRUP’s revenues in 2023 suggests 19.2% year-over-year growth.

The consensus mark for Aflac’s current-year earnings indicates a 12.2% year-over-year increase. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AFL’s current-year earnings has improved 3.3% in the past 30 days.

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