The human body is complex.
From our brains to our fingers, our bodies contain nearly 100 trillion cells working together every second.
But as amazing as the human body is, genetic disorders can create wrenches in the system. The result? Health complications and even premature death.
Traditional health care, unfortunately, tends to take a “one size fits all” approach to disease. And it can leave patients frustrated.
But there’s an alternative…
You see, precision medicine offers a more personalized approach to health care. It tailors diagnosing, treating and even preventing diseases and health conditions to the patient.
This medical approach considers your genes, environment and/or lifestyle factors to create your treatment plan.
Precision medicine is an enormous field. But one aspect that Ian King and I follow closely is genetic research.
And we’ve been following one leading biotech company in this space: CRISPR Therapeutics AG (Nasdaq: CRSP).
This company is our #1 biotech stock for 2023!
And it could soon help us declare:
- Diabetes gone.
- Cancer eradicated.
- Sickle cell disease eliminated.
So let’s dive a bit further into the company, and learn why its biggest scientific breakthrough makes it a well-positioned investment for 2023.
Meet CRISPR Therapeutics
Headquartered in Switzerland, CRISPR Therapeutics is a biotech company that researches, develops and manufactures gene-based medicines.
(From CRISPR.)
Today, CRISPR is the leading gene-editing company in the world. It develops its CRISPR/Cas9 technology for therapeutic solutions.
The company uses CRISPR/Cas9 as “a specific, efficient and versatile gene-editing technology we can harness to modify, delete or correct precise regions of our DNA.”
In simpler terms, that means this sophisticated technology can actually change parts of human DNA.
Right now, CRISPR is expanding its gene-editing capabilities. It’s working on therapies for diabetes, cancers and blood disorders.
Those blood disorders include sickle cell disease and beta thalassemia. CRISPR is making huge breakthroughs through its medical trials on these disorders.
And that’s not the only area it’s seeing success in!
A Huge Scientific Breakthrough for CRISPR Therapeutics
CRISPR’s great research facility is dedicated to science, innovation, collaboration and entrepreneurship.
And its scientific breakthroughs are incredible. In fact, health care innovations like these haven’t been seen in decades.
CRISPR is currently working on therapies that can edit cells either ex vivo (outside the body) or in vivo (inside the body).
(From CRISPR.)
For genetic diseases, CRISPR scientists can use a guide RNA that “directs Cas9 to cut DNA at a specific site in a disease-causing gene … to [improve] the genetic defect through gene disruption or correction.”
Meanwhile, for cell therapies, they can “target genes that when disrupted may improve the safety or efficacy of the therapy, or precisely insert new genes to give the cells new abilities.”
This is groundbreaking! By targeting genes, scientists are able to catch diseases before they progress — saving the patient pain, worry and even money.
It’s no wonder that CRISPR’s breakthroughs are making the news!
CRISPR Therapeutics’ Medical Trials in Action
Earlier this summer, news broke that patients treated with a trial CRISPR therapy are still “cured” three years later!
These patients were treated for transfusion-dependent beta thalassemia (TDT) or severe sickle cell disease (SCD).
In case you don’t know, TDT and SDC are both rare, inherited blood disorders. Both are typically treated with regular blood transfusions.
TDT is caused by damaged or missing genes, affecting about 5,000 Americans.
SCD prevents red blood cells from efficiently delivering oxygen to the rest of the body. This condition affects an estimated 100,000 people in the U.S.
But CRISPR’s longest-running human trials (since 2019) have been able to essentially cure patients with both genetic disorders.
Per the new long-term data from the ongoing trial, 42 of 44 patients with TDT no longer required blood transfusions.
All 31 patients with severe SCD also haven’t experienced symptoms after their long-term follow-ups.
And according to New Scientist, CRISPR is extending these trials to include children under 12. This is after the therapies proved successful in the 12 to 35 age bracket.
The goal, of course, is to “treat children early enough to prevent them getting lasting damage from these inherited disorders.”
In my opinion, this is powerful and life-changing news. And it’s thanks to CRISPR’s relentless innovations in biotech.
Biotech stocks have been in a bear market for some time now, but our research shows that it’s due for a breakout.
What Makes Biotech Stocks a Good Investment for 2023
The iShares Biotechnology ETF (Nasdaq: IBB) tracks 370 biotech companies.
It’s down 19% over the past year.
But let’s check in on its momentum.
The exchange-traded fund’s (ETF) share price is starting to break out above its 20- and 50-day moving averages. This could mean that profits are coming soon!
iShares Biotechnology ETF Points to Future Profits
Along with IBB’s share price breakout, let’s look at the projections for the global biotechnology market.
The $497 billion global biotechnology market (based on market size) is projected to exceed $950 billion by 2027.
That’s a compound annual growth rate of 9.2%.
In short, while precision medicine is only a small part of the overall biotech stock market, it’s still an excellent 2.0 investment opportunity.
Precision medicine represents one of the most exciting developments in health care since the completion of the human genome, the discovery of antibiotics and even the polio vaccine!
And like those other medical advances, precision medicine will not only boost public health, but also the wealth of savvy investors (like you!).
You have the chance to put your money into innovations that are changing lives — and not just your own.
My colleague Ian King is a big supporter of precision medicine. He’s recommended key players of the biotech market in his Strategic Fortunes service portfolio.
To learn how to access those biotech stocks and start getting his recommendations, just go here to get started!
Until next time,
Director of Investment Research, Strategic Fortunes
Disclaimer: We will not track any stocks in Winning Investor Daily. We are just sharing our opinions, not advice. If you want access to the stocks in our model portfolio with tracking, updates and buy/sell guidance, please check out Strategic Fortunes.