Why Trillium (Nasdaq: TRIL) Stock Is Today's Top Biotech Buy

Trillium Therapeutics Inc. (Nasdaq: TRIL) stock has climbed 143% in 2015, and it's still one of the top biotech stocks to buy now.

You see, Trillium is at the forefront of a revolutionary treatment that could hold the key to curing various types of cancer.

Here's how the treatment works, and how it could make TRIL stock the next great biotech blockbuster...

Behind Trillium's Revolutionary Cancer Treatment

When your cells get sick or damaged, the body sends scavenger cells called macrophages to devour them. This process is called phagocytosis.

TRIL stock"Nearby healthy cells avoid this fate because they carry significant amounts of a signal protein, CD47, on their surfaces, which acts like a flashing sign that says, 'Do not eat me!'" Money Morning Biotech Investing Specialist Ernie Tremblay explained. "Unhealthy cells lose much of their ability to express CD47 and also give off other signals that attract hungry macrophages. They quickly become lunch."

Here's the problem: Cancer cells produce CD47 and camouflage themselves from the body's immune system. That's why scientists are developing CD47 inhibitors to disarm cancer cells.

So far, CD47 inhibitor treatments have focused on blood cancers. But now scientists are developing them for other types of cancers.

"This approach to fighting blood cancers is extremely promising, but it's not the end of the story," Tremblay said. "As it turns out, CD47 blockade may be a treatment that works against all cancers - there are more than 200 variations - because all malignant tumors, no matter the type, express CD47 for survival."

These treatments could be the "magic bullet" to treating all types of cancers. And TRIL stock is at the forefront of this profit opportunity...

Trillium's CD47 inhibitor is called SIRPαFc. It binds a protein to the CD47, preventing it from broadcasting the "don't eat me" signal.

One of the biggest questions with CD47 inhibitors is whether they will also attack healthy red blood cells. But that's not the case with SIRPαFc. The drug binds well with cancer cells, but not with blood cells.

The company is set to begin phase 1 trials for treatment of acute myeloid leukemia (AML). SIRPαFc has already demonstrated that it binds well with AML-expressed CD47 in xenograft models (a xenograft is a human tumor that has been grafted onto an animal host).

"Trillium is a remarkable investment opportunity," Tremblay said. "For AML alone, assuming an annual treatment cost of around $75,000 per year, averaged worldwide, and a peak market penetration of 23%, sales could top $900 million for this indication alone."

But before you load up on TRIL stock and forget about it, here's the best approach to profit from this biotech...

How to Invest in TRIL Stock Now

Picking winning cancer drugs is incredibly difficult. Blood cancer treatments have a success rate of just 36%. It's even lower for tumor treatments, which succeed just 10% of the time.

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So when a drug is successful, it's a major cash cow. According to the IMS Institute of Health, spending on cancer topped $100 billion globally in 2014. That was a 10% increase from 2013.

"If CD47 blockade works as well as the science predicts it should, TRIL's earning potential will be unlimited," Tremblay said.

But TRIL stock is still a speculative play, with a market cap of just $162 million. While the company's potential is undeniable, the stock will remain volatile.

Tremblay typically recommends a trailing stock of 35% on biotech stocks. Since it's a speculative play, it is smart to limit your investment to 2% of your investing capital.

Shares of TRIL opened today at $21.88. Analysts surveyed by Thomson/First Call have an average price target of $37.77 for TRIL stock. That would be a gain of 72.6% from today's price.

The Bottom Line: Trillium Therapeutics (Nasdaq: TRIL) stock has soared 143% in 2015, but this biotech stock has plenty of room to run. Its CD47 inhibitor treatment has shown promising signs and could be the "magic bullet" to treating various types of cancers.

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