There’s no going “back to normal.”
My longtime readers already know this, but COVID-19 has changed our world permanently.
We can easily identify the obvious changes. We’re working remotely every day. Online grocery delivery has been quickly adopted. And, going forward, industries will have to rethink every major conference and public gathering.
But there are also less obvious changes taking place…
Breakthroughs in one technology sector that were five to 10 years away are now happening on a monthly or weekly basis.
Which technology sector am I referring to? Biotechnology.
We’re at the start of a multiyear bull market in biotech. The pandemic has opened the doors for radically new approaches to vaccines and therapies, many of which were not taken seriously before.
It’s going to help us cure diseases at a pace previously unseen.
And for investors, it presents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to create enormous wealth.
The Rise of Biotech
When we picture biotechnology, I imagine 99% of us think of scientists in white lab coats fiddling with test tubes and peering under microscopes.
But this story is far more interesting. As I like to tell readers, biotech is much more “tech” than “bio” these days.
Today, the biotechnology industry is using big data, machine learning, and artificial intelligence to make breakthroughs that – even just a few years ago – would have seemed impossible.
Consider just one example…
Back in March, the early stage biotech firm AbCellera did something that many people thought was impossible.
AbCellera received a blood sample from a patient who had recovered from COVID-19. The company used artificial intelligence to screen more than 5 million immune cells in that sample. And it identified about 500 antibodies that helped the patient fight off the virus.
Identifying these antibodies could be the key to treating COVID-19. And AbCellera used this as a starting point to create an antibody therapy to potentially cure COVID-19.
Historically, this process would have taken years to accomplish. So how long did it take AbCellera? Just 11 days. Beyond incredible.
And the industry took notice…
Pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly rushed to partner with AbCellera. They worked on a treatment using these antibodies.
And in June, AbCellera sent its COVID-19 antibody therapy to clinical trials. It was the first company to do so.
If these clinical trials go well, the company could receive emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). That will allow AbCellera to offer its therapy to the public in time for the fall.
That’s important, because we will see a second wave of COVID-19 cases when the weather gets cool and dry again.
Let’s think about this for a minute. An early stage biotech company took blood samples and identified COVID-19 antibodies. It then developed a therapy and launched clinical trials. And it did all this in the span of four months. Until just recently, this process would have taken years.
Make no mistake, this is revolutionary work.
In all my years as an analyst, I’ve never seen this type of speed from the biotech industry. And it’s thanks in large part to COVID-19.
The virus has lit a fire under this overlooked industry. And it has demonstrated how “tech” can be applied to the biotech industry in ways that haven’t been done before.
And investors are now starting to notice…
Money Is Flooding Into Biotech
Suddenly, the world has woken up to the potential of biotechnology.
Every venture capitalist and private equity house has realized how powerful these technologies are and how quickly biotech can move. We’re going to see an acceleration in biotech investment, early stage companies, and initial public offerings (IPOs) as a result.
In fact, we’re already seeing that.
Fifty-one percent of all traditional IPOs this year have been biotechnology companies. And collectively, these companies have raised nearly $5 billion for drug development.
The 2020s will be the decade of biotech. This will be the first decade in which biotechnology companies truly harness the power of Moore’s Law and demonstrate exponential growth.
For us as investors, we need to be paying attention.
We can think of it this way…
In early 2017, cryptocurrencies were a mostly unknown, niche asset. But then the cryptocurrency space went on an unprecedented bull run before its painful correction in 2018. Bitcoin alone rose over 2,000% in 2017.
And I believe investors’ awareness and engagement in early stage biotech companies will rival that of the last cryptocurrency bull market.
But unlike cryptocurrencies – almost all of which are backed by nothing – early stage biotech is supported by very real, world-changing technology. The returns we will see from quality biotech companies will create lasting, generational wealth.
We’re at the very beginning of a years-long biotech bull market. Breakthroughs will continue to happen. Diseases – previously thought untreatable – will be cured. And yes, fortunes will be made.
We’re entering a golden age of biotechnology. And it’s happening right now.
Regards,
Jeff Brown
Editor, Exponential Tech Investor
P.S. By creating a diversified biotech portfolio, investors will profit in the years ahead. But if you only ever invest in one biotech stock, it should be this one.
This company is on the verge of curing a form of blindness right now. And we aren’t talking about blindness in mice. We’re talking about blindness in humans.
That’s right – this company is using a technology called CRISPR to treat blind people and enable them to see again. How incredible is that?
And here’s the best part: The first patient has already been treated in an FDA-sanctioned clinical trial. We’re weeks – maybe days – away from that trial data coming out, revealing to the world that CRISPR has the power to make the blind see.
I expect this company’s stock price to soar hundreds of percent… maybe even 1,000%… after this news comes out. And that means this is a stock every tech investor needs to have in his or her portfolio. Simply go right here for all the details.