When market conditions weakened in late 2021, biotech investors suffered. Emerging firms without a product cannot tap equity markets easily. Investors are only willing to bet on companies with a proven pipeline and strong prospects.
Moderna (MRNA) thrived during the Covid pandemic. It booked billions in revenue. Now that demand for the vaccine is falling, Moderna has more in its pipeline. Although prevention of Covid will continue, the company needs more products. It developed a respiratory syncytial virus vaccine that met its main efficacy goals last week. The company posted an 83.7% efficacy in older adults for the candidate mRNA-1345.
In the cancer treatment space, BeiGene (BGNE) shares doubled in value since bottoming at around $125.50 on Oct. 2022. In Nov., the company received approval in the EU for the expanded use of Brukinsa. This drug may treat adult patients with treatment-naïve (TN) or relapsed/refractory (R/R) chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).
Investors are willing to pay a premium for BGNE stock after it announced the expanded use of Brukinsa. In Jan., China's National Healthcare Security Administration (NHSA) added BeiGene and the Novartis drug for treating non-small cell lung cancer, a type of colorectal cancer, esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, and nasopharyngeal cancer.
Given the strong prospects ahead, these two firms are the best biotech companies to consider.
