Technological innovation has changed our lives in many ways. Today, we can video chat with friends on the other side of the world, build a business with nothing more than a computer, and fry food with little-to-no oil.
Technological innovation is found in just about anything we do.
However, one area its power is often discounted is in medicine. Today, various types of cancer that were once death sentences are now treatable, AIDS is a manageable condition, and hepatitis C can be cured.
Thanks to technological innovation, we’re living longer, healthier lives.
However, there are still plenty of ailments that remain a mystery to the medical community. While we learn more about these conditions every day, patients with Parkinson’s disease, glioblastoma, and several other ailments are met with few treatment options. Moreover, these options largely lack efficacy.
This has led to a wave of biotechnology companies racing to find solutions to the world’s remaining conditions that are met with few, often ineffective treatment options. When these solutions are found, the opportunities are tremendous.
Just look at Gilead Sciences. In the year 2000, the stock traded at well under $2 per share as it worked to develop a cure for Hepatitis C. After developing and commercializing a cure in 2015, GILD stock climbed to all-time highs nearly $120 per share.
Ultimately, when small biotech companies have a breakthrough in a large market, gains are all-but a guarantee. So, where do those opportunities lie in the stock market today? Some of my favorite companies that are paving the way to solutions to some of the world’s most pressing medical conditions include:
Mind Medicine (MindMed) Inc (OTCQB: MMEDF)
Last, but definitely not least, we have Mind Medicine, also known as MindMed. As with some others on my list of top biotech stocks to watch, Mind Medicine is focused on the development of psychedelic therapeutic options for underserved patient populations.
In fact, the company is developing therapeutic options, using psychedelic chemicals to treat mental health ailments as well as addiction, and has shown incredible promise early on.
Focusing primarily on the use of LSD as a therapeutic agent, the company has multiple ongoing development programs. Perhaps most impressive is the company’s Project Lucy. At the moment, the company is in the midst of Phase 2A clinical trials of LSD-assisted therapy as a potential option for anxiety.
In another program, MMEDF is looking into microdoses of LSD as a potential option for adult ADHD. However, LSD is just one psychedelic compound the company is researching as a potential therapeutic option. In fact, it is working with the University Hospital of Basel to research LSD, MDMA, psilocybin, and DMT as potential therapeutic options.
The investing community is paying attention too.
So far, MMEDF is up more than four fold this year and shows no signs of slowing. All in all, this is a stock that’s worth diving into.
Silo Pharma Inc (OTCQB: SILO)
There’s a new trend in the biotechnology space, and Silo Pharma is at the helm of the movement. Psychedelic drugs are being looked at in a new light, showing incredible promise as potential treatment options for some of the most debilitating psychological ailments.
We’re talking about Parkinson’s disease, General Anxiety Disorder (GAD), and Fibromyalgia, which each are at the center of mult-billion dollar annual markets.
In particular, the company is researching ways to use psilocybin, a chemical found in “magic mushrooms” as a potential therapeutic option for patients dealing with the ailments listed above.
While psilocybin is the most compelling therapeutic agent the company is working on, in my view, it is not a one-trick pony. The company is also researching ways to use LSD as a potential therapeutic for various underserved patient populations.
The idea is that by combining small amounts of psilocybin or LSD to traditional therapies, the efficacy associated with traditional therapies will increase, and there’s plenty of data out there to suggest that the company is onto something. In fact, mushrooms have been used in medicine for thousands of years. Modern medicine just seems a bit slow to catch up.
Should Silo Pharma execute well on its plans, as I expect it will, this tiny company has a golden ticket to step into multiple multi-billion dollar markets. If that’s not an opportunity, I’ve never seen one before.
Kazia Therapeutics Ltd (NASDAQ: KZIA)
Kazia Therapeutics is an oncology-focused biotech stock that has garnered quite a bit of attention from the investing community as of late. The company has two key treatment candidates under development, CDC-0084, being developed as a potential option for patients with glioblastoma, and Cantrixil, under development as a potential option for patients with ovarian cancer.
Most recently, KZIA presented compelling data from its CDC-0084 candidate at the Society for Neuro-Oncology (SNO) Annual Meeting. The interim data from the Phase II clinical study of the candidate in glioblastoma proved to be promising from a safety, tolerability, and efficacy standpoint.
Most importantly, the interim analysis resulted in a progression-free survival (PFS) rate of 8.4 months and a median overall survival (OS) rate of 17.5 months. Temozolomide, the existing standard of care comes with a PFS of 5.3 months and an OS of 12.7 months. Moreover, given the fact that the trial is still ongoing, final PFS and OS data is not yet available, and will likely be higher than the current data being reported.
The company’s Cantrixil is resulting in similarly exciting data in early-stage clinical trials.
These markets are massive, the glioblastoma and ovarian cancer markets are expected to grow to be worth more than $3 billion and more than $6 billion per year, respectively. With KZIA stock trading with the pennies, tapping into either of these markets, even if the company only gets a small sliver of either of these markets, would lead to compelling returns, making KZIA stock one to watch closely.
BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: BCRX)
BioCryst Pharmaceuticals is a commercial-stage biotech company, but its market cap doesn’t quite show it. The company received approval for Rapivab, a seasonal flu treatment back in 2014. Unfortunately, it hasn’t been doing much by way of selling the treatment, but that’s alright, there’s plenty of opportunity ahead outside of Rapivab.
One of the most compelling assets under development at BioCryst Pharmaceuticals is galidesivir, an antiviral treatment under development as a potential option for patients with COVID-19. The treatment has shown promise in Phase 1 clinical trials and is currently the center of a Phase 2 trial in Brazil. Should all go well, galidesivir could be the next big option for COVID-19 patients.
While most COVID-19 stocks have seen tremendous gains, often to seriously overvalued points, BCRX isn’t one of them. In fact, it is barely outperforming the S&P 500 at the moment, making it a steal among high-cost COVID-19 stocks at the moment.
However, BCRX isn’t just a COVID-19 play. The company is also waiting on the FDA’s feedback on a treatment known as berotralstat as a potential option for patients with a rare condition known as hereditary angioedema. With a PDUFA date of December 3, 2020, a major catalyst could be just around the corner. While the condition is rare, the market is a multi-billion dollar one, and tapping into it would be a massive opportunity for BCRX.
All in all, BCRX stock should not be ignored.
COMPASS Pathways Plc (NASDAQ: CMPS)
COMPASS Pathways has been an incredible performer in the market this year. In fact, on a year-to-date basis, the stock is up nearly 50% with no signs of slowing growth.
There’s a good reason for all of the excitement. The company is focused on the emerging market of psychedelics as a medicine. In particular, COMPASS Pathways is focused on the use of psilocybin as a potential therapeutic option for patients with treatment-resistant depression, yet another massive market.
In fact, by 2027, it is expected that the treatment-resistant depression market could climb to be worth $1.3 billion, and with CMPS leading the charge with psilocybin as a breakthrough therapeutic option, big money players are interested.
Most recently, Atai Life Sciences, the largest shareholder of CMPS, announced that it raised an additional $125 million that will be used to advance the development of psychedelic therapeutic options for depression.
With big money players stepping on the playing field, incredible promise in early clinical studies of psilocybin as a potential therapeutic option in treatment-resistant depression, and increased awareness among the investing community as of late, CMPS is a stock that’s well worth paying attention to.
The Bottom Line
The bottom line here is simple. Technological innovation is leading to medical breakthroughs that human kind never thought possible decades ago. The companies making these breakthroughs offer tremendous opportunities for compelling gains ahead. In my view, the five stocks mentioned above are some of the best opportunities to look into if you’re interested in investing in biotech stocks on the verge of a breakthrough.
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Disclosure. CNA Finance, parent company to Alpha Stock News, has a monetary relationship with Silo Pharma that resulted in the publication of this article.