BUZZ-European pharma: time to take profits

** A tougher pricing environment in the US along with racy valuations is causing fund managers to call time on a rally in European healthcare, the star sector performer this yr. Chart: http://link.reuters.com/cyx63w

** Sector been boosted by M&A hopes - which have been somewhat dashed, particularly in UK; Pfizer did not land AstraZeneca & AbbVie's planned acquisition of Shire (Xetra: S7E.DE - news) came apart

** Increasing trend by US health insurers to use hardball tactics to get drugmakers to cut prices for older products

** Old Mutual Global Investors' Kevin Lilley sold completely out of GlaxoSmithKline (Other OTC: GLAXF - news) about 1 wk ago amid fears dividend not sustainable; co's respiratory business been hit by this trend by US insurers

** French drugmaker Sanofi (NasdaqGM: GCVRZ - news) has reported similar pressures from US insurers in diabetes mkt

** OMGI's Lilley still 'overweight' pharma but less so; scaled back positions in Novartis (Xetra: 904278 - news) , Bayer (Milan: BAY.MI - news) , & Roche by about 2/3 pct since mid-Nov

** Coutts recently downgraded healthcare to "neutral" on the grounds that it was expensive. Chart: http://link.reuters.com/wux63w (RM (LSE: RM.L - news) : tricia.wright1.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)