In today’s Roaring ’20s video, I discuss:
- How researchers are creating individualized health strategies.
- Medical innovations that are speeding up the drug discovery process.
- A discounted health stock that’s hiding in plain sight.
To watch my new video, click the play button below…
Measles is back in the news today.
So far this year, the U.S. has seen the most cases since the turn of the century.
It’s ironic given we have a vaccine that largely protects people against the highly contagious disease.
Big steps were made in the 1920s to address measles outbreaks.
Bacteriologist N.S. Ferry and chemist L.W. Fisher discovered the cause of measles. That enabled the production of a measles antitoxin. Research continued, and a vaccine was later developed.
This and other advances in the ’20s rival some amazing progress we’re seeing today in medicine. And make no mistake, this progress can make you a lot of money.
Life-Saving Cures of the 1920s
Tuberculosis killed one out of every seven people in the U.S. and Europe in the late 1800s.
In 1921, French researchers Albert Calmette and Camille Guerin developed a tuberculosis vaccine that bears their names.
We also discovered vitamins A, B, C, D, E, K and various subtypes of each during the decade.
And diabetes patients welcomed the development of insulin.
In 1920, Frederick Banting and his colleague Charles Best successfully tested an antidiabetic extract on dogs stricken with the disease. Soon thereafter, an entire research team made the advances to purify insulin, test it on humans and bring it to market.
Scientists observed the antibacterial properties of molds such as penicillium in the late 1800s. It wasn’t until 1928, though, that Scottish scientist Alexander Fleming rediscovered and isolated it. In so doing, he found the world’s first antibiotic.
Fast Forward to Today
We are still using the innovations from the ’20s today. Insulin and penicillin are obvious examples.
The vaccine created by Calmette and Guerin is used to treat tuberculosis in some countries … and bladder cancer.
Like the ’20s, this is also an era of major changes.
Scientists today are 3D-printing human body parts. Patients have received ribs and a talus bone. We’ve created models to map out a surgery … and patient-specific implants.
We can also create custom-made prosthetics, tissue, placentas and lungs. And we have made ligaments and even bionic eyes. Other applications include dental materials and hearing aids.
The most amazing change we’re seeing today is in precision medicine. As the name implies, it has made the practice of medicine more precise. Sequencing genes and better understanding disease at the cellular level has allowed researchers to personalize medicine…
This Disease Is a Killer … but We Hope for Not Much Longer
Per the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, sickle cell disease affects 100,000 people in the U.S. alone. A disproportionate percentage of them are African American.
Also known as SCD, it is a group of inherited red blood cell disorders. Normally healthy, round red blood cells become hard and sticky. They look like a C-shaped tool called a sickle.
The cells die early, causing a constant shortage of red blood cells. The shape of these cells also causes them to get stuck and clog blood flow. This results in pain, infection and even stroke.
Gene therapy is the modification of someone’s DNA to treat disease.
In 2017, doctors announced they had used the therapy to cure a teen’s SCD … and the painful symptoms that went with it.
They took some of the boy’s bone marrow stem cells, gave the cells extra versions of a needed gene and put them back in his body.
The blood tests show he’s cured.
Medical professionals are excited about the prospects of gene therapy for other ailments, such as hemophilia and cystic fibrosis, as well.
Be Strong
Immunotherapy is treatment that helps your immune system fight cancer. It’s a biological therapy. This means it uses substances made from living organisms.
One reason cancer cells thrive is they know how to hide from your immune system. Some of the immunotherapies we’re working on can mark cancer cells so it’s easier for your system to find them. Others boost your immune system, so it just works better against the diseased cells.
One version of this is T-cell therapy.
Kids who get leukemia most often suffer from acute lymphoblastic leukemia, or ALL.
In 2017, a trial was done on patients who had a less than 20% chance of survival using current treatments. Of those patients, 93% using the therapy achieved complete initial remission. Half remained in complete remission a year later.
Testing continues, but this is a huge leap forward.
An Investment Idea
To be clear, we don’t know for sure which companies will achieve the breakthroughs that will revolutionize our health.
But the progress we’re seeing makes it a sensible bet that one or more will.
Fortunately, there’s an easy, one-click way to profit from this exciting new era of medicine.
The Loncar Cancer Immunotherapy ETF (Nasdaq: CNCR) owns 25 stocks focused on curing some form of cancer.
The holdings in this exchange-traded fund (ETF) range in size. Merck has a $200 billion market cap, while four of the names are less than $500 million.
Again, we don’t know where the solutions are going to come from. But a breakthrough for one or more of these names will vault them closer to Merck-like valuations.
And this is a great time to buy this fund.
(Source: Bloomberg)
Trading since 2015, it hit its lowest price ever during last year’s sell-off. It has popped from those levels and still offers more upside.
Remember, just one breakthrough by any of CNCR’s holdings should cause shares to jump higher … as they did in the past. A return to its past high of $32 is a more than a 50% jump from current levels.
Good investing,
Brian Christopher
Editor, Insider Profit Trader