MRK

Merck & Company

Biotechnology

My Favorite Coronavirus Vaccine Candidate Doesn’t Have to Finish First

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It might be too early to call it "a light at the end of the tunnel," but the quest for a novel coronavirus vaccine has entered a new, perhaps decisive phase.

We knew fairly quickly after the pandemic exploded that life in most places could never be as it was until an effective vaccine or therapy was produced.

And now we're beginning to get a picture – tentative, to be sure – of when and how that might happen.

Infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci has said he expects FDA emergency approval of some kind of vaccine by November or December of this year.

Taking it a step further, both Bill Gates and CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield have indicated the logistics of vaccine distribution will mean life "will start to return to normal" by second and third quarters of 2021, or roughly 18 months after the social and economic devastation of this crisis started.

That seems like an awfully long time, and of course it is, but, as of now, the current "speed record" holder in the vaccine stakes belongs to Merck & Co. Inc.'s Mumpsvax.

And when I say "speed record," understand that it took nearly five years to develop Mumpsvax back in the 1960s.

For us to have an effective vaccine – any vaccine – by the end of 2020, or a little over a year since the disease emerged, would be a breathtaking, unparalleled scientific achievement.

There are dozens upon dozens of different vaccines and therapies being researched all over the world, all in different stages. The market, however, is paying the closest attention to just a few.

Aside from AstraZeneca Plc. in the United Kingdom, there are two frontrunner candidates in the United States, both in late, phase 3 clinical trials.

There's Moderna Inc., whose shares have soared as high as 400%, and Pfizer Inc., which has been rather more subdued this year, but whose vaccine candidate is a favorite in some circles for the first emergency approval.

With that said, the stock I'm going to name might not be first, but it may very well be the best… Full Story

With that said, the stock I'm going to name might not be first, but it may very well be the best...

ETFs

Why Your Next Big Profit Opportunity Is Companies Getting Smaller

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Joseph Papa, the CEO of Bausch Health Cos. Inc., was hired in 2016 to help turn the pharmaceutical company around.

Instead, he is breaking it up. But he's not crazy.

He's caught on to the fact that bigger isn't always better.

You see, Bausch Health and its subsidiary, Bausch + Lomb eye care, are two great companies… but together, they aren't exactly chocolate and peanut butter.

Papa has realized that the only thing worse than no partnership at all is a bad partnership. So he's letting Bausch + Lomb become its own $3.1 billion business.

This means that both companies will be free to focus on their own business models, their own specialized products, and their own target markets.

It's a move that's going to create billions in new shareholder value.

And while I applaud the move, I think that there's an even better way to cash in on corporate spinoffs like this one.

That's because Joseph Papa's move is part of a massive trend that will be extremely profitable for investors… Full Story

That's because Joseph Papa's move is part of a massive trend that will be extremely profitable for investors...

Biotechnology

This "Orphan Drug" Biotech Could Double in Less Than Three Years

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The three biggest Big Pharma "blockbuster" medicines of all time target high cholesterol (Lipitor), inflammatory diseases (Humira), and digestive afflictions (Nexium) and have pulled in a combined $350 billion – and counting.

But what about people suffering from rare diseases like cystic fibrosis, pancreatic cancer, and so on?

Here in America, Washington understands the need for these "orphan drugs" targeting rare diseases, which is why the "Orphan Drug Act of 1983" offers a seven-year window of tax reductions and the exclusive right to market a drug for a particular rare disease.

To date, more than 600 orphan drugs have been approved by the FDA.

And the global market for orphan drugs targeting rare diseases is growing at double the rate of the non-orphan market.

But more needs to be done. And that "more" will create a massive investment portal – provided you pick the best-positioned companies.

That's why today, our Michael Robinson going to show you a revved-up leader in the specialty-drugs market whose shares could double in under three years...

How to Identify the Real Winners of the COVID-19 Vaccine Race

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Living in California where we have had the fourth-highest amount of cases of any state, I've seen firsthand the dramatic impact of the coronavirus on our daily lives.

Storefronts have closed, and major San Francisco employers, like Facebook, have given employees the option to work from home indefinitely.

Of course, some cities have started to open back up, but it has not been a great start. There's still plenty of uncertainty out there. Cases have risen in Houston, and Virginia just reported its highest per-day increase of COVID-19 cases.

This is why the need for a vaccine is so important and why the biopharma industry has received such close attention by the public and investors over the last few months… Full Story

This is why the need for a vaccine is so important and why the biopharma industry has received such close attention by the public and investors over the last few months... Full Story

Trading Strategies

Hugely Profitable "Reality Gaps" Are Appearing All Over the Market - Just Like in This Sector

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I am overjoyed. Deliriously happy. Straight-up giddy.

Because once again, those monolithic institutions that I tolerate with contempt have handed me and my readers profits on a silver platter.

It's almost too easy, really. That's because the Big Four institutions – the news media, Wall Street heavyweights, Madison Avenue, and the Big Government – are vying to be "Masters of the Universe" and keep on creating what I call "Reality Gaps." They do it all day, every day, as they conduct "business as usual."

Reality Gaps are the huge chasm between what's being written, or shown, or talked about… and where the true realities lie.

A Reality Gap is the "space" between a story that glosses over or disguises a deeper meaning… and the moneymaking opportunity that is contained in that deeper, more important story.

And in my 35 years of experience, the more the Reality Gap obscures the underlying truth, the more moneymaking potential there is.

Let me give you a recent real-life example that illustrates the point beautifully… Full Story

Let me give you a recent real-life example that illustrates the point beautifully... Full Story

Trading Strategies

How to Invest (and Trade) Through a Christmas "Crash"

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The S&P500 has tacked on a remarkable 25.16% so far this year, yet many investors are acting as if the "other" shoe is going to drop just like it did last year right around this time.

Honestly, that's a fair concern.

The markets have been a one-way train higher since January 2019. The S&P 500, for example, has put in over 15 new record highs over the past 12 months.

The known risks – political instability, Chinese trade, regulatory changes, signs of a global slowdown – are all well understood. It's the unknown that'll get you every time.

Wall Street would have you believe that the most effective way to hedge against unknown market risk is to diversify your portfolio.

The theory is pretty elegant – or at least it's supposed to be.

Spread your money around, it says, and, in doing so, you'll reduce your risk, because "everything can't possibly go down at once."

Problem is… that's a load of self-serving hooey.

Today's markets are more correlated than they've ever been, thanks to a witches' brew of computerized trading, exchange-traded funds – ETF's for short – and leverage.

You've got to do something different if you want to get ahead...

Dow Jones

The Dow Jones Industrial Average Will Dip as New Tariff Deadline Approaches

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The Dow Jones Industrial Average could lose a few as the deadline for a fresh set of U.S. tariffs on China inches nearer.

Investors are hoping that China and the United States will be able to enact a "phase one" deal to avoid the December 15 tariffs.

This would set the two nations on a path toward a more robust deal heading into 2020.

Read more...

Dow Jones

Dow Jones Industrial Average Edges Higher as China-U.S. Trade Talks Begin

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The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose just over 25 points in premarket trading this morning as U.S. trade envoys arrived in Beijing for high profile talks with the Chinese government.

The talks come on the heels of signs that the Chinese economy is straining under pressure from American trade sanctions.

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