The Best Thing Happening During These ‘Worst of Times’

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To borrow from Charles Dickens, the current moment may be both “the best of times” and “the worst of times.” For most of us, it feels quite simply like the worst of times, thanks to the novel coronavirus.

coronavirus

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We are terrified of threats to our physical health … and to our financial health. The immediate future seems as uncertain as an uncertain future could possibly be.

So what factors could combine to make the current moment the “best of times?”

For starters, the coronavirus epidemic has shined a spotlight on the best of human nature. Stories of extraordinary compassion and self-sacrifice are multiplying faster than the virus itself.

Second, the “shelter in place” lifestyle is fostering an array of innovations and work-arounds. Some of these inventions are producing unexpected efficiencies in business. Others are fostering surprisingly vibrant modes of social interaction.

Third, and more importantly, the current moment may be the best of times because of the awe-inspiring scientific energy it has unleashed. Medical researchers throughout the entire world are working 24/7 to develop vaccines and treatments for Covid-19.

The blistering pace of these research and development efforts will almost certainly produce breakthrough successes during the next few months that will thwart the coronavirus. Additionally, some researchers are likely to “stumble on” new discoveries that will lead to breakthrough therapies for other serious diseases.

To be sure, effective vaccines and/or treatments for the coronavirus cannot possibly arrive soon enough. The road toward success will be a tortuous one, but an eventual victory seems all but certain.

And thanks to all that work toward a treatment, great investment opportunities are emerging.

A Proven Vaccine Developer

In recent days, we’ve all built up hopes of an imminent treatment for the coronavirus.

Two leading candidates have gotten the most attention:

  1. Hydroxychloroquine, an anti-malaria drug that has reportedly shown some efficacy in fighting the coronavirus.
  2. And remdesivir, an experimental drug from Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) that last week got a push from Dr. Anthony Fauci, the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

We’d all be thankful for an effective treatment — but for the Covid-19 crisis to end, we need a vaccine.

That’s why I think investors should take a look at Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA), the leading vaccine developer targeting the virus.

The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based company’s efforts recently earned a high form of validation. It scored a massive $483 million contract with the U.S. government to develop the vaccine.

While plenty of other biotech companies are racing to formulate a vaccine, most are unproven businesses with tiny market capitalizations and little track record of commercial success.

Moderna, by contrast, with a market cap of more than $16 billion, is a well-respected leader in the field. So it’s no accident that the U.S. government chose it as the key partner for a $483 million Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) grant to expedite the company’s COVID-19 vaccine development.

Moderna’s vaccine is one of the first to begin human trials. A small human safety study with 45 healthy patients got underway in March. Recently, the National Institutes of Health greatly increased the power of this study, adding six new patient cohorts into the trial.

With this increase in the funding and size of the study, Moderna should be able to reach significant conclusions about the safety of its potential vaccine much more quickly.

A Vital Mission

If that goes well, Moderna will launch a Phase II trial of the vaccine by this summer. If it passes that test, it could reach final-stage testing by fall 2020. This is truly lightning speed for a new drug or vaccine in development.

The feds and Moderna alike are pulling out all the stops to get this coronavirus blocker up and running as fast as humanly possible.

Additionally, thanks to the influx of funds, Moderna plans to hire as many as 150 new employees in the United States this year and expand its manufacturing capacity to three shifts every day of the week. If the vaccine passes all its trials, Moderna will be able to produce it in huge quantities in a matter of months.

The Road Ahead

Biotech is a complicated matter. There’s usually a long road between proposal of a treatment for vaccine and approval. Moderna may be on the fast track through testing, but it’s still not a sure thing. So be prudent with investments in this space, as both risk and reward are elevated given the life-and-death stakes of the vaccine’s success.

As far as potential COVID-19 stocks go, however, Moderna is a solid recommendation. It’s got the expertise and the funding to have a real shot at producing a working vaccine quickly.

I’m rooting for it — and for all the companies working on a vaccine.

Of course, Moderna is just one company I think has huge profit potential over the next few years.

In fact, I’ve identified four companies I think you should buy right away to capture the biggest gains in the market going forward.

In my brand-new presentation, I’ll tell you about them. Watch it here.

Regards,

Eric Fry

P.S. If you pay attention to the news, you might think the coronavirus and the horse race between Joe Biden and Donald Trump are the only big stories out there. However, the media is totally missing what is by far a bigger election year story.

You see, an alarming new trend taking shape in America is making a lot of people really wealthy … and at the same time making others poorer. I believe this will be the No. 1 factor affecting your money over the next few years. If you haven’t seen this or heard about what’s happening in your hometown, I strongly encourage you to learn what’s going on. I can show you exactly what’s happening.

Eric Fry is an award-winning stock picker with numerous “10-bagger” calls — in good markets AND bad. How? By finding potent global megatrends … before they take off. And when it comes to bear markets, you’ll want to have his “blueprint” in hand before stocks go south. Eric does not own the aforementioned securities.


Article printed from InvestorPlace Media, https://investorplace.com/2020/05/the-best-thing-happening-during-these-coronavirus-worst-of-times/.

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