Biotech Letter - John Thomas - Mad Hedge Fund Trader

The Perfect Counterbalance for a Volatile Tech

Investing in quality stocks is a surefire way to slowly build a healthy portfolio over the years.

As long as you buy and hold stocks that have the potential to expand and offer stable financials continuously, then you’ll be securing your long-term success.

Obviously, this strategy is less risky compared to jumping on every new bandwagon and believing hyped ideas.

Then, there are breakthrough ideas that look too good to pass up. A good example is the cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum.

Both operate on blockchain technology, which holds the potential to revolutionize practically all industries by decentralizing them and utilizing data in more efficient ways.

While investing in this kind of technology can definitely be exciting and thrilling, it’s undeniably scary for some who are still unfamiliar with it.

But, what if there’s a safer and more traditional way to get your foot in this groundbreaking technology?

Here’s where Cigna (CI) comes in.

Cigna is one of the handful of companies that are looking into integrating blockchain into their business, such as accepting cryptocurrencies as an additional form of payment.

Needless to say, investing in Cigna would offer you exposure to this new and emerging blockchain technology sans the risk that comes with every new technology.

This is a unique move considering that health insurance stocks are not exactly widely known as proponents of cutting-edge technology.

Aside from Cigna, other providers have been looking into leveraging blockchain to improve their operations. Some names associated with this project include Anthem (ANTM), CVS (CVS), and Cleveland Clinic.

Although blockchain remains in the early innings in terms of its existence in the healthcare industry, investors seeking some exposure would benefit from this reasonably safe option.

After all, Cigna is nothing but a safe stock.

Everyone has practically heard of the company.

Cigna provides Medicare and Medicaid products and insurance coverages not only within the United States but also in some international markets.

Known as a “global health service company,” it has approximately $64.5 billion in marketing capitalization and is considered the fifth-biggest healthcare organization in terms of revenue.

In 2021, it reported over $160 billion in revenue and has managed to rake in profits consistently.

With a net margin of roughly less than 6% of its sales, Cigna has been an investor darling by being consecutively in the black in the last 5 years.

For its 2022 plans, Cigna aims to grow its addressable market to add 3 new states and 93 new countries to reach 1.5 million new customers eventually.

The company also recently secured a new 7-year deal with the US Department of Defense, which would hand over the handling of the healthcare services of roughly 9.6 million active-duty service members to Cigna.

Moreover, Cigna has been working on targeting high-margin sectors like specialty pharmacies.

One of these businesses is Accredo, which manages individuals suffering from complex and hard-to-treat chronic ailments. These conditions include HIV, hepatitis C, and even cancer.

These types of illnesses demand a lifetime’s worth of medications with astronomical price tags. Clearly, being able to get a foothold in this segment would open up a lucrative revenue stream for Cigna.

Basically, Cigna is not your typical flashy stock that gains much attention from the market or the news. Nonetheless, it’s a solid pick that never fails to get the job done.

If anything, investing in Cigna would mean buying and forgetting about it while you collect a stable dividend yield of roughly 2% from this healthcare provider—a solid yield that’s better compared to the 1.3% average of the S&P 500.

So, for cryptocurrency fans, buying Cigna shares would simply be a way to diversify into a sector where you won’t really anticipate that much bullishness on blockchain.

cigna

January 13, 2022

Biotech Letter

Mad Hedge Biotech and Healthcare Letter
January 13, 2022
Fiat Lux

Featured Trade:

(NO REST FOR THIS PANDEMIC SUPERSTAR)
(PFE), (MRK), (RHHBY), (DNAY), (JNJ), (LLY), (BNTX), (EDIT)

No Rest for This Pandemic Superstar

Biotech Letter

Amid the pandemic fatigue hounding everyone these days, one name continues to attack the situation with consistent vigor: Pfizer (PFE).

It’s not a stretch to say that its COVID franchise is the most popular line in Pfizer’s portfolio today.

Needless to say, this is highly lucrative from a shareholder’s point of view. The company’s vaccination business has recorded over 3 billion doses to generate roughly $36 billion in sales from Comirnaty alone in 2021.

Riding the momentum of its successful 2021, the company anticipates an even more successful 2022.

So far, Pfizer is targeting an increase in its Comirnaty production to hit at least 4 billion doses this year.

Aside from being one of the first companies to develop a vaccine, the company has also created a highly effective antiviral COVID treatment that can be taken orally: Paxlovid.

While Merck (MRK) has earlier announced its move to come up with a similar oral treatment, Pfizer’s pill proved to be more effective.

Actually, customers are starting to take note of the difference and are switching brands. France already canceled their agreement with Merck and decided to order Pfizer’s Paxlovid instead.

This once again underscored the dominance of Pfizer’s brilliant R&D segment and the company’s capacity to rapidly come up with highly effective solutions for issues involving COVID.

The way Pfizer has been handling the COVID situation can be compared to Roche’s (RHHBY) approach and eventual blockbuster success with Tamiflu over 20 years ago.

Although the flu is obviously not as deadly as the coronavirus, it still caused widespread economic breakdown and health problems.

When Tamiflu eventually entered the market, the world was finally granted a simple medical answer for what was initially thought to be an unsolvable health problem.

Pfizer’s Paxlovid could very well be the Tamiflu for COVID.

Looking at Paxlovid’s effect in terms of revenue, it’s safe to say that this oral treatment can drive medium-term growth for Pfizer.

To date, Pfizer disclosed that Paxlovid would be sold for roughly $700 for each treatment course.

Let’s use the US numbers as an example to help put things in perspective. So far, the country has recorded approximately 170,000 cases per day.

If we assume that this will be the average for 2022, then there will be about 62 million COVID patients this year.

Let’s say that only 40% of these patients qualify for Pfizer’s treatment; then this would reach 24 million people at $700 each to rake in roughly $17 billion in total revenue in the US alone.

The number would definitely be significantly higher considering that Paxlovid will be offered as a global COVID treatment.

It’s evident that Pfizer’s efforts are paying off, as the sheer earnings power of the company’s COVID-19 pandemic franchise could provide a medium-term boon for its investors.

In 2021, Pfizer recorded a 130% growth in its revenue, with the numbers still climbing.

While its pandemic response has become its primary growth driver, Pfizer’s other key segments also posted promising revenues.

To sustain its climb, the company has continued to invest in R&D heavily.

A notable investment it made recently is an $8 million upfront payment to Codex DNA (DNAY) for the smaller biotechnology company to “produce certain materials of interest to Pfizer.”

According to the deal involving the exclusive product, Codex expects $10 million in technical milestone payments, up to $60 million in clinical development milestones, and $180 million in sales milestones.

Codex DNA is a small biotechnology company with a market capitalization of $267 million. It’s a spinoff from a California company called Synthetic Genomics.

While Pfizer and Codex have yet to share their plans publicly, we can hypothesize that it has something to do with the large biopharma using the small biotech’s technology to accelerate its mRNA vaccine development process.

After all, Codex’s distinct value proposition lies in its rare ability to automate various elements of the entire process. Its push-button, end-to-end solutions promise to build functional grade synthetic mRNA and DNA.

In effect, this will save cost and time for its clients.

Aside from Pfizer, this small biotech has been collaborating with other organizations like Duke University and MIT.

It has also been working with large biopharmas, including Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Eli Lilly (LLY), BioNTech (BNTX), Merck, and even gene therapy expert Editas (EDIT).

For 2022, Pfizer is anticipated to generate at least $96 billion in sales, showing off a jaw-dropping 17.2% jump from its 2021 revenue and a 229% increase from 2020.

As we slowly accept that COVID will become a staple in our lives in the coming years, I think investors would be wise to add proven “experts” in their portfolio to take advantage of the ever-present and increasing demand.

January 11, 2022

Biotech Letter

Mad Hedge Biotech and Healthcare Letter
January 11, 2022
Fiat Lux

Featured Trade:

(A GOOD STOCK TAINTED WITH CYNICISM)
(BIIB), (LLY), (RHHBY), (SAVA), (PRTA), (SAGE)

A Good Stock Tainted with Cynicism

Biotech Letter

Last year, talks that Samsung was in the process of making a $42 billion buyout bid for Biogen (BIIB) brought about a mixture of cynicism, hope, intrigue, and excitement over a potential agreement.

It was especially intriguing since the reported offer was roughly 20% more than Biogen's expected $35 billion projected value.

Eventually, this report was proven to be false.

But the mere fact that it garnered such traction and interest only highlighted Biogen’s seemingly debilitated state following their failure to deliver on a promised unprecedented motherlode following the controversial Alzheimer’s drug approval and lukewarm reception.

If you recall, experts expected Biogen’s Alzheimer’s drug, Aduhelm, to generate double-digit billions in sales considering its list price of approximately $50,000 annually and the roughly 5.8 million individuals diagnosed with the condition in the US alone.

Theoretically, Aduhelm’s addressable market was projected at $325 billion.

At that time, Aduhelm was anticipated to rake in at least $50 billion per annum—a projection that was reflected in the 55% increase in the company’s share price.

However, things didn’t go according to plan. Aduhelm’s accelerated FDA approval caused so much uproar that it eventually affected the drug’s marketability as well.

In an attempt to temper the protests, Biogen cut the cost of Aduhelm to almost half, with the drug priced at $28,000 annually instead of its original $50,000.

Despite this, the projected mega-blockbuster’s sales continued to disappoint, with its third-quarter earnings in 2021 only reaching a measly $300,000.

This January, though, Aduhelm might have a shot at saving redemption courtesy of a potential Medicare reimbursement scheme.

Ultimately, however, the decision to offer any form of reimbursement scheme will not only affect Biogen but all the Alzheimer’s disease treatments in the future.

This is actually one of the critical points that many people missed when Aduhelm gained approval.

In focusing too much on the share price of Biogen, they appeared to have misinterpreted the true purpose of the FDA’s decision.

Granting an accelerated approval for Aduhelm did not mean that the FDA was handing the company a chance to generate double-digit billions in sales.

What the agency intended was to demonstrate support for Biogen's thesis regarding a potential Alzheimer’s therapy.

That is, you can slow down the patients’ cognitive decline by aiming to reduce the amyloid-beta levels in their brains.

The FDA’s decision has, in effect, opened the floodgates not only for Biogen’s Aduhelm, but for all the other biotechnology companies working on the same idea.

To date, the companies developing their own Alzheimer’s disease treatment include Eli Lilly (LLY) with Donanemab and Roche (RHHBY) with Gantenerumab.

Both are expected to release results within the year or early 2023.

Other names are Anavex Life Sciences (SAVA) and Prothena (PRTA).

Outside its Aduhelm efforts, Biogen has also been developing new treatments, as demonstrated by the $4 billion investment it made on its R&D last year.

One promising candidate that can deliver blockbuster sales is its major depressive disorder treatment Zuranolone, which is a collaboration with Sage Therapeutics (SAGE).

Meanwhile, Biogen is also working with Ionis (IONS) to develop a successor for its spinal muscular atrophy treatment Spinraza.

Since this top-selling drug is expected to lose patent protection in 2023, the company has spent $60 million to come up with a new and more potent version: BIIB115.

For context, Spinraza recorded more than $2 billion in sales in 2021.

At this point, investor sentiment on the company has stooped at an incredibly low level. Unfortunately, the weak rollout of its Alzheimer’s treatment has planted suspicions regarding Biogen’s entire pipeline.

However, I think this kind of pessimism is quite misguided.

While the reality is that Aduhelm may never achieve the mega-blockbuster status it was once believed to reach, the situation shouldn’t necessarily diminish the truth that Biogen is actually performing quite well—and it will continue to do just fine.

January 6, 2022

Biotech Letter

Mad Hedge Biotech and Healthcare Letter
January 6, 2022
Fiat Lux

Featured Trade:

(A WONDERFUL COMPANY AT A FAIR PRICE)
(ABBV), (BRK.B), (GILD), (AMGN), (PFE)

A Wonderful Company at a Fair Price

Biotech Letter

Another year, another set of challenges and opportunities for investors. How can you make sure that you’re starting the year right?

If you’re looking to dip your toe in the biotechnology and healthcare sector, it won’t hurt to look at what the experts, such as Warren Buffett, are doing.

With a 55-year track record of 21% in annual returns for its Berkshire (BRK.B) investors, I’d say the Oracle of Omaha definitely knows his craft.

One of his most famous pieces of advice is to buy “wonderful companies at fair prices,” and I think this pearl of wisdom perfectly fits Buffett’s favored high-yield aristocrat: AbbVie (ABBV).

More interestingly, AbbVie is currently undervalued primarily due to overblown fears of patent loss for its top-selling drug Humira in 2023 and another in 2026 for Imbruvica.

Admittedly, the anxiety of investors is not entirely unfounded.

After all, AbbVie must replenish roughly $20 billion worth of annual revenue from Humira alone in the following years as the drug loses its patents and faces declining sales.

Obviously, losing revenue from a primary growth driver could be a massive problem for any company.

It could even lead to stagnating numbers in the next couple of years — a situation that the likes of Gilead Sciences (GILD), despite its $90.58 market capitalization, have become all too familiar.

Nevertheless, AbbVie isn’t simply twiddling its thumbs, waiting for the inevitable patent loss to happen.

The company has been busy preparing for the Humira and Imbruvica patent cliffs. In fact, it has been working to diversify its portfolio steadily.

One of the steps it undertook was to leverage its cash flow and $238.35 billion market capitalization to boost its R&D.

This led to AbbVie holding one of the industry’s most robust pipelines to date.

Some of the most promising products in its portfolio are Humira successors Skyrizi and Rinvoq.

Together, these two treatments are estimated to generate more than $15 billion in sales by 2025.

And AbbVie isn’t done yet.

Following its wildly successful formula in Humira, AbbVie is also looking into expanding the indications for the drug’s successors.

So far, Rinvoq has been able to deliver on this promise. Recently, this Humira successor has received FDA approval as a second-line treatment for psoriatic arthritis.

With this second indication, more and more investors are starting to believe that AbbVie has yet another blockbuster in the making.

Let’s look at the market for Rinvoq’s latest indication.

In the US alone, there are approximately 1 million to 2 million patients of psoriatic arthritis. For simplicity’s sake, let’s just say that there are 1.5 million patients in the US.

Generally, the first-line of treatment typically fails for 20% of psoriatic arthritis patients. That leads to roughly 300,000 patients who would be in need of second-line treatment.

For the sake of accuracy, it’s vital to point out that there are already a number of psoriatic arthritis treatments available in the US, such as Otezla and Enbrel from Amgen (AMGN). Moreover, JAK inhibitors are still facing potential restrictions from the FDA, thanks to the issue with Pfizer (PFE).

So, we can conservatively say that AbbVie’s Rinvoq might only be able to capture an estimated 7% of the psoriatic arthritis market share.

This translates to approximately 21,000. The annual list price for Rinvoq is at $63,000.

Taking into consideration the negotiation tactics of health insurers for price adjustments, the drug might go down to an annual list price of $44,000 instead.

Based on these conservative assumptions, Rinvoq would rake in sales of over $900 million—falling only slightly below the $1 billion blockbuster mark.

While this only hits less than 2% of AbbVie’s anticipated $56.2 billion annual revenue, this trajectory is a massive success for Rinvoq.

Bear in mind that this Humira successor has been on track to generate over $1.5 billion in sales in 2021.

Hence, adding $900 million from its psoriatic arthritis indication would offer a whopping more than 60% jump in its annual revenue.

Considering its history and trajectory, AbbVie is expected to continue to outshine its rivals in the industry.

Actually, the growth consensus for this stock is at 4% to 6.5%.

While that does not sound very impressive, it’s important to remember that the long-term growth rate for the whole industry is only 4%.

That easily puts AbbVie ahead of at least 63% of its peers in terms of growth.

Aside from the fact that this blue-chip stock is an excellent way to enjoy a solid 4.3% yield these days, the company is proving to be effective in ensuring that it delivers market-beating returns in the long run.

Needless to say, AbbVie qualifies as a classic “wonderful company at a fair price.”

humira

January 4, 2022

Biotech Letter

Mad Hedge Biotech and Healthcare Letter
January 4, 2022
Fiat Lux

Featured Trade:

(A BIOTECH DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH)
(BDSI), (TEVA)

A Biotech Diamond in the Rough

Biotech Letter

Small-cap names tend to have a terrible reputation. However, the possibility of discovering a diamond in the rough pulls traders back in the game over and over.

Fortunately, applying a bit of critical thinking in sifting through the seemingly endless lists of small-cap companies can yield a handful of names worth consideration.

In the biotechnology and healthcare sector, one name that holds the potential is BioDelivery Sciences International (BDSI).

While it’s understandable if you’ve never even heard of BDSI, this company has actually been making waves in the field of severe pain management.

To date, it has three drugs out in the market and holds the patent for a slow-release biofilm technology used to administer these medications. Simply, BDSI is proving to be a profitable and fast-growing company.

The company’s main product is Belbuca, an opioid medication targeting chronic severe pain.

The competitive edge of Belbuca against other drugs is that it’s not an oral pill. Instead, it’s a tiny film that patients keep in their cheeks. This film then slowly dissolves, offering more potent pain relief over time.

Moreover, Belbuca is more difficult to abuse, making it a more attractive option for physicians to prescribe.

At the moment, Belbuca has a 4.7% market share of the long-acting opioid treatment segment.

While that sounds like an unimpressive number, this achievement becomes more pronounced when you find out that Belbuca only held 0.5% of the market when it launched in the fourth quarter of 2017.

By the first quarter of 2021, its market share expanded by 25% year over year, indicating that segment penetration is moving forward swimmingly despite the pandemic.

In fact, Belbuca’s revenues increased by over 95% in the last 3 years.

It also reported that its trailing-12-month earnings since the first quarter of 2020 have skyrocketed to a jaw-dropping 233%.

More excitingly, BDSI successfully defended its patent exclusivity against competitors.

Recently, it managed to ward off attempts from more prominent names like Teva Pharmaceuticals (TEVA), which hoped to gain access to BDSI’s slow-release biofilm technology.

Bolstering its hold on the pain management market, BDSI has also been successful in marketing Symproic.

This prescription medication, which targets opioid-induced constipation therapies, has seen a steady rise in market share over the past 2 years.

By the first quarter of 2021, Symproic has managed to take hold of 12.6% market share, making it a promising partner to the company’s major growth driver, Belbuca.

Highly aware of the growing competition in the opioid market, BDSI has decided to venture into other segments as well.

In September 2021, the company acquired the rights to acute migraine pain medication Elyxyb for $15 million.

Elyxyb is the first-ever FDA-approved, ready-to-use oral drug aimed to treat acute migraine. In terms of peak sales, BDSI is projected to rake in $350 million to $400 million from this acquisition.

BDSI plans to launch its own take on Elyxyb by the first quarter of 2022, with the goal of adding another catalyst in its growth story and a new revenue stream.

Looking at its history and trajectory, it’s evident that things are heading towards a bright future with BDSI.

This small-cap company managed to sustain the expansion of its market share and boost its sales growth despite the pandemic and the patent challenges from bigger rivals.

Moreover, its balance sheet looks solid. Its margins and cash flow have been exhibiting notable improvements as well.

Simply, there remains no identifiable business concern that might cause it to tumble in the future.

Overall, BDSI’s long-term risk-reward outlook still appears to be attractive regardless of the market’s less-than-stellar reaction to the stock in 2021.

Needless to say, BDSI’s remarkable performance hasn’t been convincing enough for investors to believe that the stock is worth their money.

That turns this promising $315.16 million market cap biotechnology company into an exciting opportunity for deep-value investors searching for diamonds in the rough and an astoundingly cheap growth play.

bdsi

December 30, 2021

Biotech Letter

Mad Hedge Biotech and Healthcare Letter
December 30, 2021
Fiat Lux

Featured Trade:

(“WHOLE-PERSON CARE” IS THE FUTURE OF HEALTHCARE)
(TDOC), (PFE), (BNTX), (MRNA)