There are many biotech stocks to choose from that have long-lasting value. Each one can potentially have huge value, but there is a group of biotech stocks that focus only on orphan drugs. You might ask why you should bother investing in this type of biotech stocks? Because these companies treat rare diseases with limited treatment options.
Advantages of orphan drugs
The first advantage of being an orphan drug biotech is that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) allows drug makers to get seven years of exclusivity for their drugs. Also, they may obtain tax benefits in certain situations. Other drug biotechs only receive fives years of exclusivity for their drugs.
The second advantage is that there’s limited competition. To me this is one of the most important advantages. If you are the only biotech that treats a rare disease you have no competition. No competition means that the drug maker sets the price, and all money goes exclusively to it.
The final advantage is that the FDA is more lenient when it comes to the efficacy of the drug. The FDA may approve weak drugs because patients would have no therapy option otherwise. These several key advantages are why I think orphan drug biotech stocks have a better chance in the biotech sector.
Which companies have orphan drug status? Orphan drug companies have to treat diseases that affect fewer than 200,000 patients. Recently the market has gone up a lot, and it seems that these orphan drug biotech stocks have given investors many reasons to be happy.
BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (NASDAQ:BMRN)
BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (NASDAQ:BMRN) has a pipeline of drugs that target unmet medical needs. The company has generated about $500 million dollars from its three approved drugs that treat rare genetic diseases. These drugs are Aldurazyme, Naglazyme, and Kuvan.
The CEO claims the company can be more profitable with more marketing, but is putting more effort into researching more drugs that treat rare diseases. I think this is good for the long term. The genetic disorder drugs that are approved by the FDA from BioMarin treat patients that have deformed bones or mental impairments.
BioMarin has a market cap of $8.6 billion dollars, and currently trades close to its 52-week high of $64.98 per share. Despite this, the company still has a huge pipeline of orphan drugs that it is currently working on. The company has an average 50-day volume of 1.2 million, so it is a very volatile stock to invest in. I think it is a strong buy because of the partnerships it has generated thus far, with Genzyme, Merck Serono, and Alliant Pharmaceuticals. These partnerships establish BioMarin as a strong buyout candidate. Investors should definitely keep an eye on this stock.
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) has done very well over the last few years, and it has many drugs in the pipeline. It targets a rare disease known as cystic fibrosis. Cystic fibrosis is a severe disease that causes young children and young adults to get a life threatening buildup of sticky mucus in the lungs. There are about 30,000 people in the United States with cystic fibrosis, and 70,000 people worldwide.
The drug that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) uses to target cystic fibrosis is called Kalydeco. Investors should take a look at scooping up some shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX), because analysts estimate that this company has a $4 billion market opportunity in cystic fibrosis.
