Barron's On: Pharma's Big Hope

Loading...
Loading...
  • This weekend's Barron's cover story looks at why pharmaceutical giants are making big bets on gene therapy.
  • See which companies already have been snapped up and which ones may be the next targets.
  • Other notable articles offer a look at the implications of the tax law and a retirement guide for single women.

This weekend's Barron's cover story, "Why Big Pharma Is Diving Into Gene Therapy" by Andrew Bary, suggests that emerging revolutionary treatments not only promise possible cures for diseases like hemophilia and muscular dystrophy but also offer opportunities for investors.

Gene therapy—that is, treatments designed to replace faulty genes with healthy ones—offers potential cures for hundreds of genetic diseases, and because the commercial potential is enormous, that has led to a land grab among the pharmaceutical giants.

"Big drug companies are waking up and saying this is a real technology and that they need to be there," says an expert quoted in the article.

Pfizer Inc. PFE, Novartis AG NVS and Sarepta Therapeutics Inc SRPT are some of the companies that have recently bought their way into field with acquisitions. Leaders in the arena include Crispr Therapeutics AG CRSP and Editas Medicine Inc EDIT, but see what else is out there and what they have to offer.

"The space is maturing with big-cap pharma starting to buy," according to another expert. "A lot of companies are looking at gene therapy and want exposure now."

See Also: Barron's Picks And Pans: Conagra, JPMorgan, L Brands, Weight Watchers And More

Some of other stories featured in this weekend's Barron's that are also worth a look:

Loading...
Loading...
Posted In: BiotechHealth CareMediaGeneralBarron'sCrispr TherapeuticsEditas MedicineNovartisPfizerSarepta Therapeutics
Benzinga simplifies the market for smarter investing

Trade confidently with insights and alerts from analyst ratings, free reports and breaking news that affects the stocks you care about.

Join Now: Free!

Loading...