[ACCESSWIRE]
WINDSOR, ON / ACCESSWIRE / June 20, 2016 / The Wealthy Biotech Trader (or "WBT"), an investment newsletter focused on showing everyday investors new opportunities in rapidly growing, little-known biotech, pharmaceutical and medical device stocks releasing impressive news and making market moves, would like to alert investors about a huge upcoming catalyst in the marijuana industry as well as stocks to watch out for once the news hits the press.
Companies included: 22nd Century Group (XXII); GW Pharmaceuticals (GWPH); Insys Therapetics (INSY); Oxis International (OXIS)
Last year proved to be a pretty great year in terms of the progress made towards the legalization of marijuana with four states and the District of Columbia legalizing its recreational use. Moreover, a number of bills were introduced in the U.S. Congress seeking to allow states to legalize medical marijuana without federal interference as well as rescheduling marijuana to a schedule II drug. Some of the bills expected to be reviewed by the Senate Judiciary Committee include the CARERS Act sponsored by Cory Booker, Kirsten Gillibrand, Dean Heller and Rand Paul and Regulate Marijuana like Alcohol Act (H.R. 1013). The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) is also reaching out to numerous constituents regarding the DEA's consideration about rescheduling marijuana to a schedule II drug.
The passing of these bills will see a number of stocks such as 22nd Century Group (XXII) rise dramatically in valuation for important reasons. Two of the biggest causes of tension between federal prohibition and state legalization of marijuana either for medical or recreational use boil down to federal taxes and banking. Since the general consensus is that federal prohibition trumps state legalization, federal banking laws prohibit marijuana money transfers through credit card companies or debit networks and revenue generated by marijuana firms cannot be stored in FDIC insured banks and also these businesses cannot deduct their operating expenses for tax purposes.
22nd Century Group, a plant biotechnology company focused on technology that allows it to increase or decrease the level of nicotine and other nicotinic alkaloids in tobacco plants and levels of cannabinoids in cannabis plants through genetic engineering and plant breeding, is one stock that should be closely watched as federal marijuana legalization starts looking like more of a reality.
22nd Century holds exclusive rights in the U.S. to the genes required for cannabinoid production (the active "ingredient" in cannabis) in the cannabis plant. Although the company has not been conducting any marijuana related business in the U.S, it has been, through Anandia Laboratories - a Canadian based plant biotech company, researching and developing unique cannabis plant varieties for the medical marijuana industry. Through this innovative research, the company intends to cost-effectively produce commercial quantities of marijuana-based cannabinoids - including CBD and CBC - that show great promise in treating neurological disorders and other medical diseases. The group's research facilities for cannabis are located primarily in Canada, with its activities having been fully licensed by the Canadian government.
So far, 22nd Century Group is focused on unique marijuana plant varieties with low to no amounts of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) for the legal hemp industry and plants with high levels of cannabidiol (CBD) and other non-THC cannabinoids for the legal medical marijuana markets. It is important to note: in addition to exclusive U.S. rights to the genes in the cannabis plant that are responsible for cannabinoid production, 22nd Century Group maintains co-exclusive rights (with Anandia) to this proprietary technology in ALL countries outside of the U.S. and Canada. This, coupled with its modest valuation of $59 million, makes 22nd Century Group primed to make investors above average returns once federal legalization comes into play.
Other stocks to watch out for
GW Pharmaceuticals (GWPH) is a biopharmaceutical company that is engaged in discovering, developing, and commercializing cannabinoid prescription medicines. GW Pharmaceuticals was among the pioneers of cannabinoid based medications and has proven that the space holds plenty of potential for investors. One of the company's lead products is Sativex, a cannabinoid based medicine for the treatment of spasticity resulting from multiple sclerosis and cancer pain.
The company has clearly shown that there is demand for cannabis based medications judging by the reception of Sativex, which was launched in more than 10 countries including U.K, Spain and Germany. While a further 13 countries have already approved the treatment, the U.S has yet to do so, which creates a compelling opportunity based on the fact that GlobalData expects that the multiple sclerosis treatment market will reach about $20 billion by 2024.
Furthermore, it is important to note that Sativex isn't GW Pharma's only treatment to watch out for. The company has also developed Epidolex for the treatment of childhood epilepsy and other ailments, including glioma, schizophrenia and type 2 diabetes. Epidolex was granted orphan drug designation by the FDA and with more than half of its product pipeline currently in phase II testing, this stock definitely belongs on investors' watch list.
Insys Therapetics (INSY) is a specialty pharmaceutical company that develops and commercializes innovative drugs and novel drug delivery systems for therapeutic molecules using proprietary sublingual spray technology and its capabilities to develop pharmaceutical cannabinoids. Insys currently specializes in producing synthetic forms of cannabidiol (CBD) that are over 99 percent pure with the intention of targeting a variety of conditions.
Back in 2014, the company received an orphan drug designation for its pharmaceutical cannabidiol for use in the treatment of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), the most common and most aggressive malignant primary brain tumour in humans. In spite of decades of research into the treatment of GBM, the current therapies in use have failed to demonstrate adequate efficacy with the median overall survival rate of 12 to 14 months. As such, the need to identify new treatment options for the condition makes Insys well positioned to become a leader in the space based on the encouraging results so far.
In the United States, the company is the only one with capabilities of producing pharmaceutical CBDs in scalable quantities which along with its oral formulation give it a competitive advantage when compared to existing formulations.
Oxis International (OXIS) is a biotech company that develops and commercializes innovative drugs of therapeutic molecules including cannabinoids, which are focused on several cancer indications, and has exclusive worldwide patents for certain aspects for the treatment of multiple myeloma. Multiple myeloma is a type of cancer that forms in white blood cells, and affects about 26,850 people annually in the U.S. and causes about 11,240 deaths per year.
The company's lead product is OXS-1550, which is currently in phase I clinical trials for the treatment of non-Hodgkins lymphoma and leukemia. OXS-1550 is a bispecific scFv recombinant fusion protein-drug conjugate composed of the variable regions of the heavy and light chains of anti-CD19 and anti-CD22 antibodies and a modified form of diphtheria toxin as its cytotoxic drug payload. OXS-1550 targets cancer cells expressing the CD19 receptor or CD22 receptor or both receptors and when it binds to the cancer cells, the cancer cells internalize it and are killed due to the action of drug's cytotoxic payload.
According to the inventor of OXS-1550, Dr. Daniel Vallera, this treatment is a powerful alternative to existing chemotherapies due to the fact that many patients fail chemotherapy or reach the toxic limit of their therapy, which is what makes this potential new treatment so appealing.
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This report/release/profile is a commercial advertisement and is for general information purposes only. We are engaged in the business of marketing and advertising companies for monetary compensation unless otherwise stated below. The Wealthy Biotech Trader and its employees are not a Registered Investment Advisors, Broker Dealers or a member of any association for other research providers in any jurisdiction whatsoever and we are not qualified to give financial advice. The information contained herein is based on sources which we believe to be reliable but is not guaranteed by us as being accurate and does not purport to be a complete statement or summary of the available data. Sometimes human error can attribute to honest mistakes in reporting on issues regarding public companies and overall capital markets, and as such we are not responsible for the complete accuracy in these reports as the reader is required to verify all statements to ensure they are completely accurate. The Wealthy Biotech Trader's parent company has been compensated fifteen thousand dollars per month for a 12 month contract by 22nd Century Group. The Wealthy Biotech Trader encourages readers and investors to supplement the information in these reports with independent research and other professional advice. All information on featured companies is provided by the companies profiled through their website, news releases, and corporate filings, or is available from public sources and The Wealthy Biotech Trader makes no representations, warranties or guarantees as to the accuracy or completeness of the disclosure by the profiled companies. The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides investors a 'safe harbor' in regard to forward-looking statements. Any statements that express or involve discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, goals, assumptions or future events or performance are not statements of historical fact may be "forward looking statements". Forward looking statements are based on expectations, estimates, and projections at the time the statements are made that involve a number of risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those presently anticipated. Forward looking statements in this action may be identified through use of words such as "projects," "foresee," "expects," "will," "anticipates," "estimates," "believes," "understands," or that by statements indicating certain actions "may," "could," or "might" occur. Understand there is no guarantee past performance will be indicative of future results. Past Performance is based on the security's previous day closing price and the high of day price during our promotional coverage. Readers must visit our website at www.wealthyventurecapitalist.com in order to view our entire disclaimer which covers most of the risks, biases and liability releases to have a full understanding after reading this article.
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