There’s big growth in store for biotech and pharmaceuticals.
For one, the sector is still one of the safest, most recession-proof investments around.
Two, an aging population is demanding more treatments in an effort to live longer lives. As this number continues to grow, we’ll see a need for more medical treatment options.
There’s also incredible new innovation in genetics and technology. In fact, over the next several years, genetic testing and gene editing will help to identify and potentially cure diseases. And three, big pharmaceutical companies are buying hot biotech companies to keep their pipelines full to avoid revenue shortfalls.
Plus, with COVID-19 treatments desperately needed, biotech has taken center stage.
In fact, here are five of the hottest stocks to consider right now.
Top Stocks No. 1 and 2 – Pfizer (PFE) and BioNTech (BNTX)
These two companies are very close to producing a COVID-19 vaccine.
As noted by Pfizer Chairman and CEO Albert Bourla:
“It is a great day for science. It is a great day for humanity when you realize your vaccine has 90% effectiveness. That’s overwhelming. You understand that the hopes of billions of people and millions of businesses and hundreds of governments that were felt on our shoulders, now… I think we can see light at the end of the tunnel.”
Not only was the vaccine found to be 90% effective:
Study enrolled 43,538 participants, with 42% having diverse backgrounds, and no serious safety concerns have been observed; Safety and additional efficacy data continue to be collected
Submission for Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) planned for soon after the required safety milestone is achieved, which is currently expected to occur in the third week of November
Clinical trial to continue through to final analysis at 164 confirmed cases in order to collect further data and characterize the vaccine candidate’s performance against other study endpoints
On that, both stocks could see higher highs, near-term, as we battle the virus.
Top Stock No. 3 – Moderna Inc. (MRNA)
Moderna just said it’ll know by November 2020 if its vaccine works, says CEO Stephane Bancel. If it is, the company could deliver 100 million doses to the U.S. government in the first few months of next year.
Most recently, the company noted that:
“The Phase 1 interim analysis showed that mRNA-1273 was generally well-tolerated across all age groups and induced rapid and strong immune responses against SARS-CoV-2. mRNA-1273 is currently being studied in a Phase 3 randomized, 1:1 placebo-controlled trial of 30,000 participants at the 100 µg dose level in the U.S. On October 22, Moderna completed enrollment of the Phase 3 COVE study and on November 11, Moderna completed case accrualfor the first interim analysis of the Phase 3 COVE study.”
Top Stock No. 4 – Fate Therapeutics (FATE)
Fate Therapeutics has had an incredible year.
To date, the stock has exploded from a 2020 low of $18.80 to a current price of $50.51. From here, the stock could run to nearly $60 with big catalysts ahead.
In fact, according to the company:
“The clinical data across our iPSC product platform continue to solidify our conviction that multiple doses of iPSC-derived NK cells can be administered off-the-shelf in the outpatient setting, are well-tolerated, and can drive anti-tumor activity, including in combination with monoclonal antibody therapy,” said Scott Wolchko, President and Chief Executive Officer of Fate Therapeutics.
“We have now expanded the scope of clinical investigation for FT516 to solid tumors as well as for FT596 to chronic lymphocytic leukemia after observing clinical activity in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma at the first dose level. In addition, we have initiated first-in-human investigation of the first-ever CRISPR-edited, iPSC-derived cell therapy FT538, which incorporates three engineered elements to enhance multiple mechanisms of innate immunity, in acute myeloid leukemia and multiple myeloma.”
Top Stock No. 5 – CRISPR Therapeutics (CRSP)
CRISPR Therapeutics is a gene editing company that focuses on developing transformative gene-based medicines for serious human diseases. It develops its products using Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats CRISPR-associated protein 9 (Cas9), a gene editing technology that allows for precise directed changes to genomic DNA. It has a portfolio of therapeutic programs in a range of disease areas, including hemoglobinopathies, oncology, regenerative medicine, and rare diseases.
This is one of the very few companies in the world with the a “clip and paste” function.
As noted by The Nobel Prize:
“Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer A. Doudna have discovered one of gene technology’s sharpest tools: the CRISPR/Cas9 genetic scissors. Using these, researchers can change the DNA of animals, plants and microorganisms with extremely high precision. This technology has had a revolutionary impact on the life sciences, is contributing to new cancer therapies and may make the dream of curing inherited diseases come true.”
Scientists can edit the genetic sequence of organisms and change the function of cells with such technology. This could be especially revolutionary in single cell defects for example with sickle cell anemia and cystic fibrosis.
Top Stock No. 6 – TG Therapeutics Inc. (TGTX)
TG Therapeutics is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the acquisition, development and commercialization of novel treatments for B-cell malignancies and autoimmune diseases. Currently, the company is developing two therapies targeting hematological malignancies and autoimmune diseases.
The U.S. FDA recently accepted the company’s NDA for umbralisib as a treatment for patients with previously treated marginal zone lymphoma (MZL) who have received at least one prior anti-CD20 based regimen and follicular lymphoma (FL) who have received at least two prior systemic therapies.
Michael S. Weiss, the Company’s Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, stated, “This has been a very exciting few months for TG especially sharing the first ever data from the UNITY-CLL Phase 3 trial last week showing that the trial met its primary endpoint of improvement in progression-free survival, as well as data from the UNITY-NHL trial which supported our NDA submission for umbralisib monotherapy.”
“These data sets add to the growing body of evidence suggesting that umbralisib has a differentiated safety profile and support our long-term vision of U2 as a potential backbone for future combination therapies. With PDUFA goal dates in February 2021 and June 2021 now set for our umbralisib NDA for the treatment of relapsed/refractory MZL and FL, respectively, our team is hard at work ensuring we are prepared for a successful launch in these indications.”