How do you pick Pharma-Bio Investments?

[DelianLeague]

Hello All,

When it comes to buying shares in individual companies I can be cautious, in general. I have a couple of holdings in big pharma and I have never invested in Bio-tech companies….until recently.
I admit that I have little idea of what I am doing as the companies don’t make a profit so I can’t tell if I am overpaying for the shares or not.
I have invested in the following 3 companies simply because I find the technology behind the products/cures fascinating and they seem to be really making a difference to people’s lives:

Autolus, Sangamo and Cidara

I would be interested in anyone else’s stories/ideas on how they chose investments in this sector. I admit that I don’t really know what I am doing but I have kept my Investment in each company fairly modest.

D.L.

[TUK020]

I have taken a modest punt on Novo Nordisk, purely on the basis of a report that an early stage trial shows that large doses of their already approved diabetes drug seems to result in significant and enduring weight-loss.
This was done on a very simple set of logic assumptions/generalisations without any rigorous analysis:

Money in pharma is for issues which affect western world, not developing countries.
Big and growing issue for developed countries is obesity/diabetes.
Big issue with drug development is cost/time/success rate of trials & safety approvals.
Drug that has already been approved for a related use has a massive head start.

Bought a small stake and have tried not to look at it since.

[DelianLeague]

I have taken a modest punt on Novo Nordisk, purely on the basis of a report that an early stage trial shows that large doses of their already approved diabetes drug seems to result in significant and enduring weight-loss.
This was done on a very simple set of logic assumptions/generalisations without any rigorous analysis:

Money in pharma is for issues which affect western world, not developing countries.
Big and growing issue for developed countries is obesity/diabetes.
Big issue with drug development is cost/time/success rate of trials & safety approvals.
Drug that has already been approved for a related use has a massive head start.

Bought a small stake and have tried not to look at it since.

Novo was always a share that was on my 'watchlist' It was one of the ones that I wanted at a good price but it always seemed to up and I never managed to buy any at the price that I wanted. I suppose its a sign of quality.

D.L.

[bruncher]

Hello All,

When it comes to buying shares in individual companies I can be cautious, in general. I have a couple of holdings in big pharma and I have never invested in Bio-tech companies….until recently.
I admit that I have little idea of what I am doing as the companies don’t make a profit so I can’t tell if I am overpaying for the shares or not.
I have invested in the following 3 companies simply because I find the technology behind the products/cures fascinating and they seem to be really making a difference to people’s lives:

Autolus, Sangamo and Cidara

I would be interested in anyone else’s stories/ideas on how they chose investments in this sector. I admit that I don’t really know what I am doing but I have kept my Investment in each company fairly modest.

D.L.

Why not split your proposed investment between all three? These stocks are so volatile, that one winner covers your losses if the other two don't do well.

[bruncher]

My best performing share last year was Moderna - I bought a dip and more than doubled my money, but not everything works out like that - I'm currently underwater with a small bet on CureVac.

[GrahamPlatt]

Have had my fingers burned more times than I care to recall “buying the story” in small companies with a good idea. Mine were largely of an engineering bent, but I’m sure the same applies to pharma. If the product is that good, the gorillas will just acquire them, or time will be against them and they don’t get to market until the funds run out. OTOH, a very few will shoot the lights out. It’s a gamble. So, as bruncher says, spread your bets.

[bruncher]

An interesting story re BioNTech and CureVac:

CureVac has filed a lawsuit in the German Regional Court in Düsseldorf against BioNTech SE and two of its subsidiaries, seeking fair compensation for infringement of a portfolio of CureVac’s intellectual property rights,

https://markets.ft.com/data/announce/de ... 91049_en-1