Many people, including investors, doctors, and scientists, believe that the 21st century is the golden age for biotechnology. Especially, the post-covid era brings this sector on to a whole new level. The technological advancement in the biotech industry fuels investors and traders to get their hands on biotech stocks like never before.
The companies in the biotechnology industry develop treatment procedures, drugs, and preventive measures for multiple diseases and medical conditions. The biotech companies are different from independent pharmaceutical companies as pharmaceutical companies manufacture drugs by using chemicals. Whereas biotech companies manufacture drugs derived from living organisms.
The best biotech companies in the world have gained the attention of mainstream investors after the Covid-19 outbreak as the companies are developing vaccines and various other treatments for the virus. In addition, this industry keeps improving the ways to create new and more advanced solutions to treat and mitigate diseases.
As biotech is becoming one of the favorite sectors of investors, we have listed some of the best biotech stocks to watch in 2022.
Top 8 Biotech Stocks
Below are the eight biotech stocks that we have picked to buy in 2022. They have the huge potential to give massive returns in the next year. In fact, many big investors have some of these stocks in their portfolios.
Novavax (NVAX)
A biotech business situated in Gaithersburg, Maryland, develops vaccinations for serious infectious illnesses. The firm used to work on experimental vaccines for influenza, respiratory sickness, Ebola, and other new contagious diseases before the Covid-19 pandemic. Novavax AB, Cpl Biologicals Pvt. Ltd., Isconova AB, and Fielding Pharmaceutical Company are among the company’s subsidiaries.
Novavax is working on a COVID-19 vaccine candidate known as NVX-CoV2373. The company is looking towards creating a COVID-19 vaccine that combines NVX-CoV2373 and NanoFlu. Its vaccine candidate uses a single protein molecule known as a protein subunit to trigger an immune response against the novel coronavirus.
The U.S. government has agreed to cover $1.6 billion in late-stage development and manufacturing expenditures for Novavax’s COVID-19 vaccine in exchange for a pledge from the business to produce 100 million doses of the treatment if it passes clinical testing and FDA approval.
Novavax also has supply agreements in place with Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and India. The company has also committed to providing 1.1 billion doses of their vaccine to the COVAX Facility, which was created to offer COVID-19 vaccinations to low- and middle-income countries.
NVAX is currently trading at $179.49, with a market capitalization of $13.57 billion.
Axsome Therapeutics (AXSM)
Axsome’s flagship candidate medicine, AXS-05, is designed to treat depression and agitation associated with Alzheimer’s disease. The business formally filed for U.S. regulatory approval for the depression treatment in early 2021. It’s also testing AXS-05 in phase 2 research to see if it can help people quit smoking.
Soon, Two more candidates in the company’s pipeline are expected to be assessed for potential regulatory approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). AXS-07 is used to treat migraines, whilst AXS-14 is used to treat fibromyalgia.
If authorized, AXS-05 as a depression treatment may be the best medicine, with peak annual sales estimated at $2.6 billion, according to analysts. Axsome Therapeutics is an appealing biotech stock to buy in 2021 due to the revenue potential of these three medication candidates.
AXSM is currently trading at $32.77, with a market capitalization of $1.24 billion.
Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX)
Vertex Pharmaceuticals, situated in Boston, Massachusetts, focuses only on rational medication creation rather than combinational chemistry. Nevertheless, the organization is trying to improve patient health by delivering a variety of vital services. Vertex is also working on an early-stage development programme with CRISPR Therapeutics (CRSP) to test gene-editing medications for the rare blood diseases beta-thalassemia and sickle cell disease.
Vertex Pharmaceuticals, which makes a number of C.F. drugs, has a near-monopoly on marketing treatments for the disease’s underlying cause. Vertex’s medication, which combines the cystic fibrosis treatments Trikafta and Kaftrio, has the potential to treat more than half of the cystic fibrosis patients now being treated.
Leading academics, public health specialists, and doctors collaborate to find cures for a variety of ailments in the corporation. In addition, vertex intends to go beyond C.F. medicines with phase 2 programmes tackling pain and kidney illnesses caused by particular gene mutations. The company’s pipeline also includes other potential C.F. treatments in phase 2 testing.
VRTX is currently trading at $211.13, with a market capitalization of $53.7 billion.
Moderna Inc. (MRNA)
Moderna was a little-known company with no items on the market until around two years ago. It has now surpassed well-established titans such as Gilead Sciences and Vertex Pharmaceuticals as one of the world’s largest biotechs by market cap. However, some may argue that Moderna grew too quickly and that the firm would need a lot of things to go well to justify its current market cap.
While we agree with some of this opinion, we believe Moderna has the resources to continue to be a significant player in the biotech business for many years to come. For one thing, the corporation continues to reap the benefits of its successful coronavirus-related initiatives. Booster doses of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine, mRNA-1273, have been approved by authorities. At the very least, the booster market is expected to last long into next year.
Viruses are baffling creatures. We’re currently dealing with omicron, a new virus variety that causes COVID-19. This more recent strain appears to be much more contagious than delta, which was more virulent than the virus’s initial strain.
MRNA is currently trading at $283.28, with a market capitalization of $114.9 billion.
uniQure NV (QURE)
uniQure is a renowned biotech firm based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The company was created in 1998 and uses a unique technology platform to provide curative gene therapy.
Corlieve Therapeutics SAS, uniQure I.P. B.V., and Amsterdam Molecular Therapeutics are some of the company’s subsidiaries. For a variety of inherited disorders, such as hemophilia B and Huntington’s disease, the business develops one-time-only medicines.
QURE is currently trading at $28.75, with a market capitalization of $1.33 billion.
Exelixis (EXEL)
Exelixis currently has four medications on the market. However, Cabometyx, which is licensed to treat renal cell carcinoma and hepatocellular carcinoma, the two most frequent kinds of kidney and liver cancer, is by far the greatest winner.
Cabometyx was approved for use in combination with Bristol Myers Squibb’s immunotherapy medication Opdivo in early 2021 by Exelixis and Bristol Myers Squibb. Exelixis is also collaborating with Roche to test a medication that combines Cabometyx and Roche’s cancer immunotherapy treatment Tecentriq. These treatment combinations are aimed at RCC that has never been treated before.
Exelixis is profitable, allowing it to use its rapidly rising financial reserves to sign new licensing agreements and expand its therapeutic portfolio. For example, it licenses the right to develop further a promising early-stage cancer treatment named XL102 from the development-stage biotech business Aurigene, as well as a panel of monoclonal antibodies from WuXi Biologics.
EXEL is currently trading at $17.86, with a market capitalization of $5.65 billion.
CRISPR Therapeutics AG (CRSP)
CRISPR Therapeutics AG, situated in Zug, Switzerland, is a Swiss-American biotech business. The company specializes in the production of gene-based pharmaceuticals.
The CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing tool is being developed by CRISPR to treat autoimmune disorders such as cancer and hemoglobinopathies. The company has a lot of promise in the biotech industry. CRISPR’s popularity has soared as a result of its relationship with Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX), which we previously highlighted.
Because of this agreement, CRISPR generated a lot of money in the second quarter. At the end of the first quarter, Vertex paid CRISPR $900 million upfront to develop CTX001, a gene-based medicine.
CRSP is currently trading at $78.87, with a market capitalization of $5.71 billion.
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (REGN)
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals is a biotechnology business based in Westchester County that was founded in 1988. The organization concentrates on generating therapeutic molecules that go through a whole clinical development process and are managed throughout their lives. REGEN-COV, a COVID-19 antibody treatment developed by the biotech business, is well-known.
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals is the only company with the authorized Covid-19 antibody therapy for emergency use. There are a variety of factors for the stock’s excellent growth potential, including this. In addition, several of Regeneron’s medical development initiatives are geared at getting approvals for previously approved drugs in new indications.
Regeneron’s most successful product is Eylea, an eye disease treatment developed in collaboration with Bayer (BAYRY). In addition, another life sciences and pharmaceutical company, Sanofi (SNY), has a lucrative deal with Regeneron.
REGN is currently trading at $657.93, with a market capitalization of $70.76 billion.
Bottom Line
In terms of volatility and growth factor, biotechnology is one of the safest fields for inventors. The healthcare industry is one of the most stable, with price fluctuations occurring only infrequently. According to some observers, the biotech industry has unstoppable development potential. The sole disadvantage of investing in biotech firms is that due to lower volatility, it is challenging to generate a decent profit in short-term trading. Therefore, long-term investors should consider biotech equities.
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