Investment coverage on biotech, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, diagnostics, services and HIT

Executive Briefing

Summary of Today's Top Sector Commentaries

Biotech Stock ETFs: How to Ride the Surge in Mergers & Acquisitions "Investing in biotech stocks requires not only an understanding of the company's finances, but also knowledge of the company's potential based on its products and technologies. You can reduce some of the guesswork by using exchange-traded funds, which give you exposure without betting the farm on a single company." - Don Miller, Money Morning (5/16/12) More >

Stakeholders Share Data to Design Better Trials for Neurodegenerative Diseases "The Coalition Against Major Diseases is an industrial consortia of companies willing to share precompetitive knowledge and work in support of projects identified as high priority by the FDA and in the interest of public health." - Patricia F. Dimond, Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (5/15/12) More >

FDA Panel Recommends Approval of Quad Regimen "The FDA's Antiviral Drugs Advisory Committee agreed with the efficacy outcome, and there was little discussion or debate on the efficacy of Quad." - Catherine Shaffer, BioWorld (5/14/12) More >

UMass to Break Ground on Biotech Testing Facility "The facility allows start-up companies to conduct research, test and scale up their products, or partner with other startups. The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth says it will eliminate a common barrier for entering the life science industry." - Herald News, Grant Welker (5/13/12) More >

FDA Panel Wants Higher Bar for Medical Devices Aimed at Curbing Obesity "High-risk medical devices intended to help obese patients lose weight should result in more weight loss than lower-risk methods, an FDA advisory panel said last week." - Mass Device, Ingrid Mezo (5/14/12) More >

Top 10 Best-Selling Cancer Drugs in 2011 "Many of the newer cancer drugs are aimed at cancers with specific genetic variations, so the drugs can be targeted to patients who are most likely to benefit—and that likely benefit can command premium prices." - Fierce Pharma, Tracy Staton (5/16/12) More >

Taxing Jobs out of Existence: George Will on the Medical Device Tax "In 2010 Congress, ravenous for revenue to fund Obamacare, imposed a 2.3% tax on gross revenue from U.S. sales of medical devices beginning in 2013. The tax might, however, be repealed." - Washington Post, George Will (5/9/12) More >

Looking at Small Medtech and Biotech in Canada: Nick Waddell Is there a developing Silicon Valley model in Canada? Not quite yet, but Publisher and Founding Editor Nick Waddell of the Vancouver-based Cantech Letter would like to see that happen. Meanwhile, he's looking for—and finding—exciting small- and micro-cap ideas as potential big returners. In this exclusive interview with The Life Sciences Report, Waddell discusses current favorite healthcare names that will surely surprise people who have not been looking North. - George S. Mack, The Life Sciences Report (5/3/12) More >

Researchers Tap into the Final Frontier: The Sea "Currently, 13 therapeutic agents with marine origins are in clinical development." - Patricia F. Dimond, Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (5/7/12) More >

Streetwise Expert Interviews

Five Companies in the Casey Portfolio Worth Watching: Alex Daley

Biotech and medtech expose investors to rapid growth in healthcare innovation. In this exclusive interview with The Life Sciences Report, Chief Investment Strategist Alex Daley of Casey's Extraordinary Technology matches science to unmet needs to bring big ideas and big returns to investors. (5/17/12) More >

Newsletter Briefs

"ISRG's earnings growth is expected to continue to be stellar." (5/13/12) Intuitive Surgical Inc. - Ganaxi Small Cap Movers More >

"ELN's sales of Tysabri rose 17.5% to $288.2M." (5/1/12) Elan Corporation - Zacks Equity Research More >

"IMUC has been one of the better under-the-radar performers of 2012." (4/30/12) ImmunoCellular Therapeutics Ltd. - Brian Nichols, Seeking Alpha More >

"JNJ is a great example of a low-risk blue chip." (4/24/12) Johnson & Johnson - The Energy Report Interview with Porter Stansberry More >

"IMUC's ability to manufacture 20 doses at once should significantly improve economics." (4/12/12) ImmunoCellular Therapeutics Ltd. - The Life Sciences Report Interview with Stephen Dunn More >

"KLH is the world leader in keyhole limpet hemocyanin production." (4/12/12) Stellar Biotechnologies Inc. - The Life Sciences Report Interview with Stephen Dunn More >

Expert Analysis

"We are initiating coverage on IMUC, which has promising results from a phase 1 trial of ICT-107." (5/15/12) ImmunoCellular Therapeutics Ltd. - Megan McCloskey, MLV & Co More >

"We expect JNJ's pipeline to deliver accelerating growth." (5/15/12) Johnson & Johnson - Larry Biegelsen, Wells Fargo Securities More >

"We forecast revenue growth of 18% in 2012 for EW." (5/12/12) Edwards Lifesciences Corp. - Phillip Seligman, Standard & Poor's More >

"MRK's Suvorexant shows positive results in next-day driving performance." (5/11/12) Merck & Co. Inc. - Marc Goodman, UBS Securities More >

"MDT has 10%+ upside and potential for greater excitement in 2013." (5/11/12) Medtronic Inc. - Bob Hopkins, Merrill Lynch More >

"ALGN is a top pick." (5/10/12) Align Technology Inc. - Jonathan Block, SunTrust Robinson Humphrey More >