Medtech Deals Buoyed by Cost Pressures, Device Tax
Source: Reuters, Debra Sherman and Soyoung Kim  (9/5/12)
"Medical device mergers look poised to take off in 2013 as the industry compensates for shrinking reimbursements, a new U.S. tax and executive shake-ups at its biggest companies." More >

Four Important Biotech Stocks Targeting Unmet Needs
Source: George S. Mack, The Life Sciences Report  (9/1/12)
Biotech rallies need catalysts to be sustained. Market moving events include drug approvals, such as a couple of obesity products from Vivus Inc. and Arena Pharmaceuticals Inc., as well as a product to help control serum lipids from Amarin Corp. Plc (AMRN:NASDAQ). But the major diagnostic feature of a market that might be putting it all together is merger and acquisition (M&A) activity. The theory is that if fully integrated, major drug developers want products and platforms. You can bet they've done their due diligence and that market conditions are nearly perfect. Even retail investors begin to pay attention. More >

Analyst Bets on Extraordinary Science and Clinical Data: Greg Wade
Source: George S. Mack of The Life Sciences Report  (8/30/12)
Managing Director Greg Wade of Wedbush Securities doesn't use a cookie-cutter approach to picking biotechnology stocks. He directs investors to companies with strong science, well-executed clinical studies and data that point toward future success. In this exclusive interview with The Life Sciences Report, Wade shares his favorite names and the compelling stories behind each company. More >

Resverlogix's Phase IIb Results Good for 'Bromodomain' Drugs
Source: Catherine Shaffer, BioWorld  (8/29/12)
"Resverlogix's RVX-208, designed to increase levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol in patients with atherosclerosis, is hitting all of its marks." More >

New Heart Drugs May Be Too Costly to Ease Pharma's Patent Pains
Source: Reuters, Ben Hirschler  (8/29/12)
"Leading cardiologists, who follow drug development closely, warn that the hurdle for pricey new heart medicines is getting ever higher as economic pressures hit health budgets worldwide." More >

Study Shows CT Scanning Technology Superior
Source: Medical Xpress  (8/29/12)
"An important noninvasive technology may improve existing care and has the potential to outperform established noninvasive technologies." More >

Filling the Drug Translation Gap
Source: Alex Philippidis, Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News  (8/29/12)
"Patients keep waiting longer and longer for research to translate into new drugs as development costs rise. The best hope for bridging that gap—thus cutting time and money from drug development—rests with translation-focused disease foundations." More >

Gemoscan Sets Aggressive Expansion Plan
Source: BioTuesdays, Leonard Zehr  (8/28/12)
"The company is planning expansion in the U.S., Europe, Asia and India, with a growth objective of 10,000 locations by 2014." More >

Lilly and Its Big Alzheimer's Bet Is a Mixed Bag
Source: Pharmalot, Ed Silverman  (8/24/12)
"One Wall Street analyst posited that the results will be seen, overall, in a positive context due to misunderstandings about the Lilly compound and the approach for treating Alzheimer's with this particular type of treatment, which is a monoclonal antibody." More >

Russian Biotechs Emerging from Behind Iron Curtain with Innovation
Source: Michael Harris, BioWorld  (8/24/12)
"A handful of strong, yet relatively new, Russian biopharma companies, led by R-Pharm and Pharmstandard, are poised to exploit Russia's BRIC status as a premier emerging drug market as they expand their ranges, hoping to conquer the international biotech market." More >

Fearing Anchors Away After M&A
Source: Alex Philippidis, Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News  (8/24/12)
"Big pharma's growing M&A appetite threatens to give two of the nation's largest biotech clusters heartburn over the next few months, as they await the future of homegrown 'anchor' companies recently acquired by some of the world's largest drug developers." More >

Forget the Dog Days: Biotech Stocks Poised to Perform
Source: Medical Technology Stock Letter  (8/24/12)
"While the dog days of summer have been tough on biotech investors, fall is just around the corner. The outstanding performance of the biotechs year-to-date should attract investors who may have missed out on the earlier strength in the sector." More >

Chen Lin's Key to Huge Biotech Profits: Make It Personal
Source: George S. Mack of the Life Sciences Report  (8/23/12)
Chen Lin is a well-known expert junior metals and energy investor, but he has found compelling reasons to diversify into biotechnology. In this exclusive interview with The Life Sciences Report, Lin meshes common sense and personal experience with his trademark brand of aggressive investment savvy to identify three life sciences stocks that could be huge gainers for investors. More >

Thomson Reuters Study Confirms Economic Viability of Orphan Drugs
Source: Associated Press  (8/22/12)
"This report provides extensive and tangible evidence that orphan drug development is an important component of biopharmaceutical R&D strategy." More >

Top 10 Pharma Firms
Source: Alex Philippidis, Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News  (8/21/12)
"Companies earned a spot in the top 10 based on market cap at the end of Q2/12 and Q2/11." More >

How to Profit from an Alternative to Chemotherapy
Source: Ray Blanco, The Penny Sleuth  (8/20/12)
"Companies with breakthrough platforms enjoy the ability to leverage the platforms into many new therapies; if well managed they can grow for many years and continue to build value for their shareholders." More >

These Five Biotech Firms Will Literally Change the World
Source: Michael Robinson, Money Morning  (8/20/12)
"In the very near future we will have a wide array of new drugs, devices and biotech systems that will save the human race from disease and premature death. We also will be able to make money by investing in these breakthroughs." More >

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 >