Clovis Oncology Inc (CLVS), Sarepta Therapeutics Inc (SRPT): Three Healthcare Stocks to Keep an Eye On

The healthcare industry is slowly becoming what the pre-crash technology industry was of the early 2000’s. The emergence of new technologies in medicine, an aging working population, and retiring baby boomers are all expected to provide tremendous growth to the industry over the next several decades.

Many companies will inevitably capitalize on this growth, creating excellent investing opportunities for investors. For the next 20 years, nearly 10,000 people will turn 65 everyday — a rate never seen in history, and by 2050, the number of people over the age of 60 will increase by nearly 300%, according to the US Census Bureau. The following healthcare stocks are positioned to take advantage of this change in demographics and are showing promising signs of growth in both, the near and short-term.

Hitting gold

On June 3, Clovis Oncology Inc (NASDAQ:CLVS)‘s stock doubled after the announcement that it’s cancer drug, rucaparib, blew Phase I expectations out of the water. The experimental drug that treats ovarian cancer showed a clinical benefit in 89% of its users, and is targeted towards patients who have resistance towards current disease treatments. Currently, there are no options available to treat this mutation, making rucaparib a potential cash cow for Clovis Oncology Inc (NASDAQ:CLVS). Because of the results, Clovis Oncology Inc (NASDAQ:CLVS) wants to start Phase II trials in the next couple of months.

Clovis Oncology Inc (NASDAQ:CLVS) recently announced a plan to offer $170 million in common stock in an effort to pay for more drug development programs and other general corporate purposes. Clovis Oncology Inc (NASDAQ:CLVS) is in the process of developing many other anti-cancer drugs, most of which are already contracted out to national pharmaceutical companies.

Breaking through

The FDA has given the Solaris drug “fast-track status;” a label that the FDA gives to potential break-through drugs. Over the last five years, Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALXN) has also proved to be one of the fastest growing healthcare stocks. Its EPS alone has grown at 87.72% on average annually during the past five years.

Keep a keen eye on the status of the Solaris drug in the near future. If all goes as expected, this health care stock could shoot to the moon.