Six Disruptive Biotech Stocks: Ray Blanco
Source: George S. Mack, The Life Sciences Report  (8/18/12)
Imagine a novel discovery or even a novel platform that just fizzles. To a technology freak like me that sounds so disappointing—to think that you can actually discover breakthrough ideas that are not disruptive and don't really change much. I recently spoke to Ray Blanco, who was so inquisitive as a kid in the 1960s that he built a Wilson cloud chamber in his parents' basement to detect vapor trails revealing movement of subatomic particles. He's still at it, but now it's about building financial models to assess the value and prospects of innovative companies. Today, as an editor and contributor to several investment publications at Agora Financial, Blanco is satisfying his still-healthy curiosity by finding small-, mid-, and even a few large-cap tech stocks with the potential to usher in new paradigms and make significant returns for investors. More >

Why M&A Flurry Has Top MKM Analyst Smiling All the Way to the Bank
Source: George S. Mack of The Life Sciences Report  (8/16/12)
Sometimes bigger is better. In this exclusive interview with The Life Sciences Report, Senior Analyst and Managing Director Dr. Jon LeCroy of MKM Partners points to mergers and acquisitions that have bolstered stock prices and singles out biotech and specialty pharma companies of all sizes that could generate significant returns for investors by addressing unmet medical needs with innovative solutions. More >

Biotech Stocks Live (and Die) on the Calendar: Michael Hay
Source: George S. Mack, The Life Sciences Report  (8/15/12)
Since the beginning of the biotech revolution, analysts have kept spreadsheets, tables and calendars to catch the next whiff of data coming out of companies whose futures hang in the balance. I recently interviewed Vice President Michael Hay of Sagient Research Systems for The Life Sciences Report. Hay watches for data and listens to conference calls the same way analysts from investment banks and asset management firms do, but his specialty niche is catalysts. He has concluded that the two most powerful share-price drivers of small companies are pivotal phase 3 data and U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory panel votes. The Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) date, which is when the FDA delivers its yes or no decision on a drug, is not necessarily the big market mover because most times FDA takes the advice of the advisory committee, which means the news is already baked in. Indeed, the PDUFA date can sometimes trigger a sell-on-the-news effect to knock a stock down from its peak even on good news. More >

The Gift from 'Little Pearl Harbor'
Source: Ray Blanco, The Daily Reckoning  (8/10/12)
"A smart acquisition that can be commercialized quickly can start generating sales in a fraction of the time. . .and that is what is happening today." More >

Health Care Law's Tax Hikes Are Coming: Who Pays?
Source: Associated Press, Connie Cass  (8/10/12)
"The wealthiest 2% of Americans will take the biggest hit, starting next year. And the pain will be shared by some who aren't so well off—people swept up in a hodgepodge of smaller tax changes that will help finance health coverage for millions in need." More >

Think Long Term and Win Big with Small Biotechs: Hugh Cleland
Source: George S. Mack of The Life Sciences Report  (8/9/12)
BluMont Capital Portfolio Manager Hugh Cleland has taken a venture capital and private equity approach to investing in public companies, some of which have penny-stock market caps in the $5–15 million range. The idea is to invest in small- and micro-cap stocks without facing redemption risk, and to employ a hands-on approach when helping innovative companies create and realize value over the long term. In this way time becomes the friend—not the enemy—of companies looking for scarce capital in a risk-averse world. In this exclusive interview with The Life Sciences Report, Cleland shares the names of a handful of small companies that could return tenfold or greater multiples to investors. More >

This Tiny Startup Has Scored 'Microchip Medicine' Breakthrough
Source: Michael Robinson, Money Morning  (8/9/12)
"A novel new drug-tracking sensor could literally save your life one day. It's a 'pill' as big as a grain of sand and it could mean huge profits for big pharma companies in the not-too-distant future." More >

Lilly Raises Profit Forecast on Amylin's $1.26B Payment
Source: Reuters, Toni Clarke and Esha Dey  (8/9/12)
"Lilly plans to use the cash to advance its 'pipeline of more than 60 potential new medicines,' among other corporate uses." More >

Battles over FDA Use Code Challenge Branded Drug Exclusivity
Source: Isabelle Blundell, Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News  (8/9/12)
"Successful marketing of pharmaceutical drugs can be put at risk if FDA approval is not carefully conducted in parallel patent issuance." More >

The Phytochemical and Nutraceutical Revolution Starts Right Now
Source: Patrick Cox, The Penny Sleuth   (8/8/12)
"As investors, we have a huge opportunity to invest in early-stage, revolutionary companies working on plant- and animal-based health solutions that bypass the lengthy and extremely expensive FDA approval process." More >

Nanofibers May Quicken Healing After Heart Attacks
Source: Bloomberg News, Jeanna Smialek  (8/8/12)
"With development, the treatment could be used to enable people who would otherwise be bedridden to recover." More >

How to Cure Aging, Disease and Low Stock Performance
Source: Patrick Cox, The Penny Sleuth  (8/6/12)
"To live a longer and wealthier life, now's the time to add companies with inflammation-beating products to your medicine cabinet and your portfolio." More >

Warning: Hidden Affordable Care Act Taxes Will Cost More Than You Think
Source: David Zeiler, Money Morning  (8/5/12)
"Many of these new measures are disguised as taxes on businesses. The bulk of these 'stealth taxes' will be transferred to consumers via higher prices for drugs and health insurance." More >

Disruptive Biotechnologies Stir Up Profits: Ray Blanco
Source: George S. Mack of The Life Sciences Report  (8/2/12)
As coeditor of Technology Profits Confidential and contributor to Breakthrough Technology Alert and Penny Sleuth at Agora Financial, Ray Blanco searches far and wide for breakthrough ideas and disruptive technologies that will change the lives of very sick patients. In this exclusive interview with The Life Sciences Report, Blanco discusses how investors can reap big gains with biotech companies that possess disease-busting platforms but are not yet fully valued by the markets. More >

FDA Is No Slower with Device Approvals than EU Counterparts
Source: Cardiovascular Business  (8/2/12)
"Conventional wisdom holds that, when it comes to deploying new medical technologies, the U.S. is much slower than Europe’s four largest markets. Conventional wisdom is wrong." More >

Biotech M&A at Four-Year High as Pharma Faces Expiring Patents
Source: Reuters, Soyoung Kim and Paritosh Bansal  (8/2/12)
"Big pharma's preference for commercial-stage assets, rather than clinical trial-stage drugs carrying regulatory approval risk, means that companies tend to pursue multibillion-dollar transactions rather than going for smaller deals." More >

The Quiet Outperformance of Recent Biotech IPOs
Source: Forbes, Bruce Booth  (8/1/12)
"New biotech IPOs have quietly been putting points on the board with their post-IPO performance. It's now fair to say they have resoundingly outperformed their tech cousins in the public markets." More >

New Hope for Alzheimer's Disease
Source: Gail Dutton, Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News  (8/1/12)
"Optimism has been fostered by the more than 150 firms working in Alzheimer's pace and the countless approaches being explored." More >

Dendreon to Close New Jersey Plant, Cut 600 Jobs
Source: Reuters  (7/30/12)
"The company, whose Provenge treatment for prostate cancer has had disappointing sales since it was launched in April 2010, and which is facing growing competition from easier-to-administer drugs, said the closure of its Morris Plains, New Jersey, factory would greatly reduce its cost of goods sold." More >

Brains Are Different in People with Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory
Source: Science Daily   (7/30/12)
"UC Irvine scientists have discovered intriguing differences in the brains and mental processes of an extraordinary group of people who can effortlessly recall every moment of their lives since about age 10." More >

Healthcare Reform Could Radically Change Your Benefit Plan
Source: David Zeiler, Money Morning   (7/27/12)
"Most employers (71%) said they expected to continue sponsoring health insurance plans, but many are considering major changes as more of the healthcare reform law kicks in." More >

Fascinating New Technology Trends Offer a Glimpse into a Wild Future
Source: Michael Robinson, Money Morning  (7/27/12)
"Cutting-edge high tech is moving at warp speed, with new advances coming faster than any one person can track." More >

Immunotherapies Attack Cancers and Grow Portfolios: Mara Goldstein
Source: George S. Mack of The Life Sciences Report   (7/26/12)
Sometimes valuations don't match the fundamentals of a stock, according to Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. Senior Biotechnology Analyst Mara Goldstein, who understands the science and its relationship to value. Goldstein recommends a handful of small-cap immunotherapy companies that were up 14–42% over the month of June; she also has one large-cap idea for more patient investors. In this exclusive interview with The Life Sciences Report, Goldstein makes a case for favorite companies that should continue making shareholders happy. More >

Special Report Reveals Biotech Stock Drivers: Michael Hay
Source: George S. Mack of The Life Sciences Report  (7/26/12)
Certain predictable dates and events bring profound effects to bear on biotech stocks. Michael Hay, vice president of Sagient Research Systems, successfully applies the art and science of important catalysts to predict when biotech stocks will move up or down. In this exclusive interview with The Life Sciences Report, Hay discusses his strategy and names companies that will produce meaningful gains for investors. More >

Good News in Hard Times: More Money for Biopharma
Source: Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News  (7/26/12)
"Venture capital firm New Enterprise Associates says investments in biopharma and other healthcare startups will be included in its just-closed 14th fund totaling $2.6B." More >