Most established cancer treatments – from chemotherapy and radiation to the 200 drugs out there – have one thing in common.
They're all more or less "one size fits all" treatments, procedures, or regimens.
But the most exciting, promising discoveries – and biggest profits – are made on the frontier. And on the frontier of cancer research is a treatment under development that's going to disrupt the field for the next several decades.
I'm talking about powerful "bespoke" cancer treatments for every patient, using their own bodies to boot.
Not only will this improve and save lives, but it'll also crack open a market worth $25 billion by 2025. It really is a revolutionary development.
But the "Buy" call I'm making today is still trading at "pre-revolutionary" prices…
The Cancer Fight's "A-Bomb"
I can't overstate this. The treatment I'm going to tell you about, as well as the most important company pioneering it, will change cancer treatment the way the atomic bomb changed the face of warfare moving forward.
This biotech "A-bomb" is called immunotherapy, or "IO" to insiders. And it's progressing rapidly.
The technique is straight out of science fiction.
Immunotherapy uses a patient's own immune system – "tweaking" it by either suppressing, stimulating, or enhancing an immune response – to effect a desired change. It can be used to vaccinate people and fight microbial diseases, reduce allergic reactions, suppress the sometimes devastating response to organ transplants, and, most promisingly, help patients destroy their own tumors and beat cancer.
Right now there are more than 1,000 drug trials underway for IO candidates. The trials mainly involve patients whose cancer isn't responding to traditional therapies like chemo or radiation and who are now terminal.
There's good reason to move with haste. The longer we live, the more likely we are to develop some form of cancer. It's always been a killer, but it's becoming a huge problem.
In addition to the human cost, traditional cancer treatments run about $10,000 a month, according to U.S. News & World Report. Insurers, doctors, researchers, regulators, and patients are all on the same page here. That's been an important driver in IO's development.
I'm bullish on this entire segment, and I'm not alone. Barclays expects IO to be worth $25 billion by 2025 – just eight years.
Now let me show you the company I think will reap the most benefit from this "frontier" research.
The Biotech at the Top of the IO Pyramid
Incyte Corp. (Nasdaq: INCY) is one of the leading IO and next-generation oncology drugmakers in the marketplace today.
Its first major drug to market was Jakafi, a drug used to fight a bone-marrow cancer called myelofibrosis, where bone marrow is replaced with scar tissue. That makes the spleen swell as it takes over the job of making red blood cells. Jakafi uses inhibitors to slow or stop the conversion of the bone marrow.
Approved in 2011, Jakafi is well on its way to becoming a blockbuster drug – a drug with annual sales above $1 billion. Last year, the drug hit more than $800 million in sales, almost doubling 2015 sales. Last summer, Jakafi got Breakthrough Therapy Designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat graft-versus-host disease, which happens to some patients that get a bone-marrow transplant. That's another big market that should certainly push Jakafi over the $1 billion mark. Incyte Chief Financial Officer David Gryska raised his peak sales estimate for Jakafi to $2 billion earlier this year.
Iclusig is another drug in Incyte's arsenal. Physicians use it to treat two types of leukemia. And in phase 3 trials begun late last year, epcadostat is looking to treat patients with advanced or metastatic melanoma.
And just recently Incyte paid a $12 million milestone payment to Calithera Biosciences Inc. (Nasdaq: CALA) for its work on the development of small-molecule anticancer IO drugs.
This makes Incyte a serious player in several IO niches.
And most of the spaces it occupies don't have any competitors yet because the field is still new to many biotech firms. That's a significant advantage, too.
That's why this innovative biotech going to pad your portfolio – and put you on the road to wealth – very nicely.
How and Why to Buy
This firm has returned 104% over the past 12 months with far, far less volatility than the S&P 500.
What's more, compared to the Big Pharma firms working on IO, it's about a tenth of the size by market cap. Its IO portfolio will help it – and its stock price – grow much faster than that of its larger, more diversified competition.
Its small size and full pipeline make it a nigh-irresistible takeover target, too. This company could very easily be scooped up (at a whopping premium) by, say, a Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) or a Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE: MRK) looking to buy an IO operation with approved, proven products.
Margins are solid, and earnings continue to grow at a healthy pace. The company beat earnings-per-share expectations in February, coming in a penny over forecasts, and is likely to do the same again in May. The stock has made gains of 26% since its last report.
Incyte has plenty of cash in the bank for any new acquisitions or drug trials that need it. The stock recently dipped 20%, but I'm happy to see that.
It means you're getting a great stock with blockbuster potential – and it's on sale.
It will likely consolidate here until its next big leg up, so I'm comfortable recommending everyone grab this company at current market prices, with an eye to using the Cowboy Split – picking up more on any unexpected pullbacks.
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About the Author
Michael A. Robinson is one of the top financial analysts working today. His book "Overdrawn: The Bailout of American Savings" was a prescient look at the anatomy of the nation's S&L crisis, long before the word "bailout" became part of our daily lexicon. He's a Pulitzer Prize-nominated writer and reporter, lauded by the Columbia Journalism Review for his aggressive style. His 30-year track record as a leading tech analyst has garnered him rave reviews, too. Today he is the editor of the monthly tech investing newsletter Nova-X Report as well as Radical Technology Profits, where he covers truly radical technologies – ones that have the power to sweep across the globe and change the very fabric of our lives – and profit opportunities they give rise to. He also explores "what's next" in the tech investing world at Strategic Tech Investor.
Wondering if I should consider selling EKSO Bionics stock and buying one of these in a healthcare field too.