The world of biotechnology is an interesting one. Many claims that we are currently living in the age of innovation and discovery. Pharmaceuticals alone have made strides unparalleled throughout human history. Treatments and medications for diseases that were once life-threatening are now readily available at one’s nearest dispensary. Similarly, biotech companies are increasingly working towards the development of treatments for various diseases and conditions that are prevalent across the world. Many are also proactively working towards the establishment of diagnostic technologies that work to optimize healthcare. For investors, taking early long positions in promising biotech stocks could result in explosive growth opportunities. The research process is laden with high-risk, and low certainty. However, with proper planning and foresight, one could make a fortune with the right pick. Here we present a list of 5 biotech companies stocks that could potentially drive up your portfolio by a growth factor of 10.
Axsome Therapeutics
We begin our list with the biotech stock, Axsome Therapeutics, Inc., (AXSM). The specific focus of the company is on central nervous system disorders. The stock holds immense promise, and recent developments have further bumped up its overall potential.
The company’s candidate, AXS-05 is one that has recently achieved major milestones. The company has begun talks with the FDA pertaining to the labeling of the treatment. This indicates that approval is imminent, with the final stage procedures currently underway. AXS-05 is an oral treatment for various central nervous system disorders. This includes major depressive disorder which holds a market size of 20 million in the US alone. Market analysts expect a final decision on the candidate to be made by late July 2022. This is highly likely given that the candidate has met every safety standard in the earlier phases of its trials.
Similarly, the company acquired Sunosi in May 2022, which is likely to prove to be a valuable growth driver for the company. The drug which treats daytime sleepiness holds a sizeable market and saw revenue growth of 105% in 2021. The synergistic benefits it would bring to AXS-05 could potentially see Axsome grow into a large-scale commercial entity. The company further plans to initiate phase 2/3 trials in 2022 for ADHD treatment. The ADHD market is expected to grow to $25 billion by 2025.
AXSM is not a stock to miss, given the sheer promise everything about it offers.
BioMarin Pharmaceutical
The second stock on our list is the biotech company BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc (BMRN). BioMarin primarily deals with therapeutic treatments of rare, life-threatening conditions.
The reason why we believe BMRN is capable of phenomenal growth is due to its exceptionally robust pipeline. Towards the end of June 2022, the company’s hemophilia treatment, ValRox received a positive opinion from Europe’s leading medicinal research committee, the CHMP. This is a major breakthrough and pushes the candidate closer to commercialization. This is a drug that management states would be priced between two and three million dollars per dosage. The result therefore would be a surging revenue in the billions range, which could start as early as the last quarter of 2022.
The next area of promise with BioMarin is its Voxzogo treatment. This is an FDA-approved treatment that helps increase linear growth in children diagnosed with achondroplasia. Voxzogo has already been commercialized and saw revenue of nearly $20 million during the first quarter of 2022. This figure was over 30% higher than analysts’ consensus. BioMarin offers the drug in 15 different markets, which reflects its global demand.
BioMarin is evidently a biotech company that is in a high-growth phase given the main gems in its pipeline. Its stocks are very much capable of delivering growth of up to 10 times to one’s portfolio.
Vertex Pharmaceuticals
Up next, we present a potential game-changer in the biotech space, Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (VRTX). Vertex specializes in small molecule drug treatments for various life-threatening diseases.
As of yet, several Vertex products that treat variations of cystic fibrosis have been commercialized. This gives the stock a significant advantage in terms of risk reduction. Its launched products deliver the company substantial free cash flow to fund its research in other areas of its development pipeline. The result of this is a highly robust balance sheet, with a net positive cash holding. For a biotech company with so many promising candidates in the pipeline, this is a major plus point.
This brings us to the next strong point about Vertex Pharmaceuticals. The company’s unique pipeline consists of various treatments covering highly distinct areas. Each of its candidates has made progress to varying degrees. These include simple medication for pain treatment, as well as drugs to address sickle cell disease, beta-thalassemia, and type-1 diabetes amongst many others. A pipeline this promising and this diversified maximizes the stock’s explosive growth potential in the future. Collectively, progress with its pipeline has been showing steady movement which places it on the list of best biotech companies stocks. Its upside potential is further boosted by its recent commitments toward crisper gene-editing technologies, an area that is expected to be a gamechanger in biotechnology in the near future.
Global Blood Therapeutics
The fourth stock on our list of biotech companies stocks, is the highly innovative biopharmaceutical company, Global Blood Therapeutics, Inc (GBT). When going for a biotech portfolio, the key strategy is to look for innovators. With this in mind, you can’t get a better pick than GBT. Due to this aspect of the stock, it is likely to soar even despite recessionary conditions.
Although GBT holds some highly promising drug candidates, with at least two in the phase three trials, it is its commercialized product, Oxbryta that has caught our attention. Oxbryta addresses sickling and hemolysis. The product is delivering the company aggressive revenue growth, bringing in a total sales figure of $375 million. For a company with a market capitalization of merely $2 billion, this is an immense figure, reeled in only through a single product.
What is more impressive is that the Oxbryta growth has only gotten started. The drug recently gained marketing approval in the EU for children over 12 years old. As a result, it is highly likely for this revenue figure to see up to triple-digit growth upon its EU launch. In fact, GBT is strategically positioning itself to unlock further upside potential and growth for itself. One way through which it aims to achieve this is by its focus on initiating phase 1 2 Oxbryta trials for babies aged from 6 months to 3 years old. Buying GBT now could result in your capital seeing an aggressive upward flight in a few years’ time.
Biotech Stock.
The last stock on our list of biotech companies stocks, and far from being the least is that of SIGA Technologies (SIGA). The company is one with immense growth opportunities given its focus on infectious diseases. SIGA has recently been in the spotlight given the capability of its FDA-approved product, T-poxx to treat the notorious monkeypox. As a result, SIGA prices shot up 85% in less than 10 days. The treatment is essentially an intravenous version of a smallpox drug.
In case of a widespread outbreak of the monkeypox disease in Europe and North America, SIGA stands positioned to see a rocketing growth trajectory. T-poxx has been approved by the European Medicine Authority, as one of the few therapies to be strategically deployed in case of a wider outbreak. The upside potential, in this case, is far beyond the apparent. T-poxx has been declared as a core treatment by European authorities that would essentially cover monkeypox, cowpox, smallpox as well as complications arising from vaccinia.
Monkeypox is presently in a steady spread phase. Governments in the impacted regions are rushing to contain this spread through a mass vaccination program. With T-poxx being among the lead treatments in this fight, its value is likely to continue soaring at unprecedented levels. Investing in SIGA now would be a highly strategic move that is likely to pay off extremely handsomely.
Conclusion
The biotech industry is typically perceived as being one that is highly rewarding, yet, laden with significant risk. Even in the case where testing goes positively, there is no guarantee as to whether or not a profit will be turned. For this reason, it is crucial for investors to remain strategic in their analyses, and identify which stocks hold the lowest risk and highest growth potential. Each of the stocks mentioned would ensure you stand exposed to the explosive growth opportunities that the innovative biotech industry is likely to achieve.