Where do we begin? As Wachovia analyst Larry Biegelsen writes in an investor note, with characteristic understatement, there is “a growing list of issues” that indicate the drug and device maker will be sick for quite some time (is that Miles White with the fever?). Check out his list of maladies:

1 - He expects the US launch of the Xience drug-eluting stent to be delayed up to 12 months due to a paucity of long-term follow-up data;
2 - There is a “noticeable decline” in the growth rate in scrips of the all-important Humira arthritis med, and new competition is coming from Johnson & Johnson;
3 - Income from a joint venture with TAP Pharmaceuticals will “decline meaningfully over the next few years” due to the patent expiration on Prevacid in 2009;
4 - Growth rates of its key cholesterol drugs, Niaspan and TriCor, are “uninspiring” and may face new competition from Merck next year;
5 - Growth rate in the Kaletra AIDS drug to continue to decline due to competitive pressure;
6 - The diabetes care biz will face greater competitive and pricing pressure in the future.

And so Biegelson downgraded Abbott’s stock, saying “myriad challenges leave little room for upside.” Does it get worse than this? Sure, but…