In May, I announced my intention to�create a portfolio�that embodied life's basic needs. To that end, over a period of 10 weeks, I detailed 10 diverse companies that I think will outperform the broad-based�S&P 500�over a three-year period because of their ability to outperform in both bull markets and bear markets, as well as their incredible pricing power in nearly any economic environment.
If you'd like a closer look at my reasoning behind each selection, just click on any, or all, of the following portfolio components:
Waste Management� Intel� NextEra Energy� MasterCard� Chevron� Select Medical� Ford� American Water Works� Procter & Gamble� AvalonBay CommunitiesLet's look at how our portfolio of basic-needs stocks has fared since we began this experiment.
Company
Cost Basis
Shares
Total Value
Return
Hot Cheap Companies For 2015: NanoViricides Inc (NNVC)
NanoViricides, Inc., incorporated on April 1, 2005, is a development-stage company. The Company is a nano-biopharmaceutical (nanomedicine) company whose business goals are to discover, develop and commercialize therapeutics to advance the care of patients suffering from life-threatening viral infections. The Company has several drugs in various stages of early development. The Company�� drugs are based on several patents, patent applications, provisional patent applications, and other property held by TheraCour Pharma, Inc. (TheraCou), to which the Company has exclusive licenses in perpetuity for the treatment of human viral diseases: Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV/AIDS), Influenza including Asian Bird Flu Virus (INF), Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV), Hepatitis C Virus (HCV), Hepatitis B Virus (HBV), and Rabies. As of June 30, 2012, the Company had six drug development programs: Oral FluCideTM, against all Influenzas; a Piggy-back version of Flucide for hospitalized patients; nanoviricide eye drops against adenoviral EKC and herpes keratitis; HIVCide - I against HIV/AIDS; HerpeCide - I skin cream formulation for herpes cold sores and genital warts, and DengueCide, a broad spectrum nanoviricide designed to attack all types of dengue viruses and expected to be effective in the Severe Dengue Disease syndromes including Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever (DHS) and Dengue Shock Syndrome (DSS). As of June 30, 2012, it had engaged in organizational activities, sourcing compounds and materials, developing novel compounds and nanomaterials, and experimentation with studies on cell cultures and animals. In September 2011, NanoViricides Inc's Inno-Haven LLC acquired a light industrial building.
The Company's product development programs are divided into three sectors: commercially important diseases, neglected tropical diseases (NTD��) and biosecurity/biodefense, and advanced technologies. The Company has collaborations with KARD Scientific, Inc., MA. and Southern Research Institute, AL for influenza viruse! s; National (Central) Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology (NIHE) (Vietnam), for H5N1 avian flu; The Long Island Jewish Medical System, Feinstein Institute of Medical Research (LIJMS), NY and TheVac, LLC. for viral diseases of the eye (adenoviruses, herpesviruses - epidemic kerato-conjunctivitis (EKC), Herpes Keratitis); TheVac, LLC and Northeastern Ohio Medical University (NEOMED) for herpes virus infections; University of California at Berkeley for dengue hemorrhagic fever viruses; Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and National (Central) Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology for rabies virus. The Company has developed lead drug candidates against a number of viral diseases.
The Company had consolidated all of its influenza drug programs into a single pan-influenza FluCide program. It is developing a single drug for all influenzas, whether pandemic, epidemic, seasonal, novel, emerging, human, swine, or avian. It is developing a nanoviricide against adenoviral EKC. The nanoviricide eye drug candidate is formulated as simple eye drops. It is developing an anti-HSV nanoviricide skin cream formulation for direct application to the lesions. It has designed the anti-HIV nanoviricides using rational drug design principles. The ligands it has designed in the case of HIV-1 are thought to be broadly neutralizing. In-silico modeling indicates that its ligands dock to the conserved CD4 binding site of gp120 of HIV-1. The Company is working on developing anti-Dengue therapeutics. Dengue is an important NTD. Its RabiCide program has resulted in candidates that have enabled survival of 20% to 30% of infected animals after disease has set in, using a particular animal model.
The Company competes with Roche, Glaxo SmithKline, BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Gilead, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (BMS), Roche, Boehringer Ingelheim, Merck & Co., Inc. (Merck), Valeant, Schering, Pharmassett, Vertex, Intermune, Achillion and Novartis.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Roberto Pedone]
One under-$10 nano-biopharmaceutical player that's starting to trend within range of triggering a big breakout trade is Nanoviricides (NNVC), which engages in the discovery, development and commercialization of anti-viral therapeutics primarily in the U.S. This stock has been ripping to the upside so far in 2013, with share up big by 198%.
If you take a look at the chart for Nanoviricides, you'll notice that this stock has recently formed a double bottom chart pattern at $4.55 to $4.52 a share. Following that bottom, shares of NNVC have now started to uptrend and move within range of triggering a big breakout trade. That trade will hit if NNVC manages to take out the upper-end of its recent sideways trading chart pattern, which has seen NNVC trend between $4.55 and $5.74 a share.
Traders should now look for long-biased trades in NNVC if it manages to break out above some near-term overhead resistance levels at Friday's high of $4.94 a share to its 50-day moving average of $5.28 a share, and then once it takes out some more key overhead resistance levels at $5.72 to $5.74 a share with high volume. Look for a sustained move or close above those levels with volume that hits near or above its three-month average volume of 234,994 shares. If that breakout triggers soon, then NNVC will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $6.50 to its 52-week high at $7.59 a share.
Traders can look to buy NNVC off weakness to anticipate that breakout and simply use a stop that sits right below some key near-term support levels at $4.55 to $4.52 a share. One can also buy NNVC off strength once it starts to clear those breakout levels with volume and then simply use a stop that sits a comfortable percentage from your entry point.
10 Best Medical Stocks To Watch Right Now: Evolva Holding SA (EVE)
Evolva Holding SA (Evolva) discovers and provides ingredients for health, nutrition and wellness. Evolva uses biosynthetic and evolutionary technologies to create small molecule compounds and their production routes. The Company�� nutrition and consumer products include Pomecins, saffron, stevia, vanilla and resveratrol. The Company�� pharmaceuticals products include EV-077 and EV-035. In pharmaceuticals, the Company focuses on oral, small molecule drugs with application in complications of diabetes and infectious diseases. Pomecins are Evolva�� compounds. Evolva is focused on two members of the family - Pomecin A and Pomecin B. EV-035 is a bacterial type II topoisomerase inhibitor. Evolva is developing EV-077 for the treatment of diabetic complications. It is an oral, small molecule compound, belonging to a structural class. Advisors' Opinion:- [By Glenwoods]
Earlier this year the giant food processor, Cargill, partnered with the small Swiss company, Evolva (SIX:EVE), which was developing its own stevia-based fermentation process, also in the pilot stage. As noted earlier in the article, Cargill is in a partnership with Coca-Cola for Truvia, the bestselling stevia product on the market. The success of the Cargill/Evolva partnership could have big implications not just for Cargill and Coca-Cola, but also on the entire stevia and sweetener market. I further believe the success of the partnership could have a major impact on Stevia First. If Cargill�� fermentation method produces a better tasting stevia product at a lower cost it would give Coca-Cola a considerable advantage over the other beverage bottlers, food manufacturers, and stevia producers. Such an outcome would force these companies to scramble to find a similar method in order to compete. There would be a very good chance that rival companies, in order to stay in the game, would have to turn to the other company developing a fermentation-based stevia product-- Stevia First. If that happens Stevia First�� value would rise considerably.
10 Best Medical Stocks To Watch Right Now: Therapeutic Solutions International Inc (TSOI)
Therapeutic Solutions International, Inc., formerly Friendly Auto Dealers, Inc., incorporated on August 6, 2007, is a development-stage company. The Company is focused in establishing itself as a specialized brand promotional merchandising company. It would identify a range of casual apparel and consumer products that can be manufactured and resold with the product endorsement of corporate logos. In April 2011, the Company acquired Splint Decisions Inc.
The Company concentrates its efforts in the People�� Republic of China and its retail automotive industry. As of December 31, 2009, the Company had no operations and had not generated any revenues.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Peter Graham]
Small cap medical device or biotech related stocks Therapeutic Solutions International Inc (OTCMKTS: TSOI), diaDexus, Inc (OTCMKTS: DDXS) and Spherix Inc (NASDAQ: SPEX) have been getting some attention lately in various investment newsletters with the good news being that it appears none are the subject of paid promotions from stock promoters. So why are these three stocks all of a sudden getting some attention and what else do you need to know about them before you make a short or a long term bet on one? Here is a closer look at the whole picture and what you might be missing:
10 Best Medical Stocks To Watch Right Now: OncoSec Medical Inc (ONCS)
OncoSec Medical Incorporated, incorporated on February 8, 2008, is an emerging drug-medical device company. The Company focused on designing, developing and commercializing medical approaches for the treatment of solid cancers. In March 2011, the Company acquired from Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Inovio) certain assets related to the use of drug-medical device combination products for the treatment of different cancers.
The Company�� acquired assets relate to certain non-deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) vaccine technology and property relating to selective tumor ablation technologies, which it refers to as the OncoSec Medical System (OMS), a therapy which uses an electroporation device to facilitate delivery of chemotherapy agents, or nucleic acids encoding cytokines, into tumors and/or surrounding tissue for the treatment and diagnosis of various cancers. As of January 24, 2012, the Company had not generated any revenue from operations.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By James E. Brumley]
How does the old saying go? Beggars can't be choosers? Two weeks ago, yours truly penned some bullish comments regarding OncoSec Medical Inc. (OTCMKTS:ONCS). The long and short of it was, if ONCS could clear a technical ceiling around $0.36, then life would get much easier for the bulls.
- [By James E. Brumley]
If you're looking for the next big biotech breakout stock, then OncoSec Medical Inc. (OTCMKTS:ONCS) deserves a place on your watchlist. This volatile cancer play has been down more than up 2011, but if you look closely at a long-term chart of ONCS, you may find it's already wiggled its way into a new uptrend. And, it may be only a matter of time before the bullish fireworks start to go off.
- [By Bio-Wire]
Another company that has benefitted from Inovio�� newfound attention is OncoSec Medical (OTC: ONCS) ��a newer ��ffshoot�� company that uses a similar but distinctly different electroporation device known as the OncoSec Medical System (OMS) that is based on Inovio�� technology. The specific amplitude and frequency of the OMS electroporation is calibrated such that plasmid delivery into solid tumor masses is fully optimized, while CELLECTRA electroporation is less specialized and focus more on the vaccination of skin cells. The cross-license agreement made between Inovio and Oncosec also covers the two devices for their distinctly different applications.
- [By John Udovich]
Small cap biotech stocks AVEO Pharmaceuticals, Inc (NASDAQ: AVEO), OncoSec Medical Inc (OTCMKTS: ONCS) and MetaStat Inc (OTCBB: MTST) are focused on or are developing treatments or diagnostic technologies for metastatic cancers. In case you aren�� familiar with the term metastasis or metastatic, it�� the�spread of cancer from its primary site to other places in the body as cancer cells break away from a primary tumor, penetrate into lymphatic and blood vessels, circulate through the bloodstream and then grow in a new focus (metastasize) in normal tissues elsewhere in the body. In other words, it�� a dangerous form of cancer, but there are some small cap biotech stocks targeting it for diagnostics or treatment:
10 Best Medical Stocks To Watch Right Now: Applied Nanotech Holdings Inc (APNT)
Applied Nanotech Holdings, Inc., incorporated on May 22, 1989, is engaged in nanotechnology research and development business. The Company's nanotechnology research involves performing contract research and development services for others to develop products and materials for new applications, and then leveraging this research by applying it to other similar applications in other industries. The Company also develops intellectual property (IP) around its products and technologies. The Company develops five technology platforms: nanosensor technology; nanocomposites, based on carbon nanotube composites; thermal management materials; nanoelectronics applications, and electron emission activities, primarily in the display area. The Company's electron emission IP is divided into display activities and non-display activities. Applied Nanotech Holdings, Inc. is the parent company. Applied Nanotech, Inc. (ANI) is a subsidiary of ANHI. During the year ended December 31, 2012, the Company formed EZDiagnostix, Inc., (EZDX).
Sensors
The Company develops sensors based on ion mobility sensor technology and differential mobility spectroscopy. The Company is involved in projects to develop Mercaptan and Methane sensors for uses in the natural gas industry. The Company is also applying this technology to other applications, including agricultural pathology, wound care, and breath analysis. The Company develops hydrogen sensor for use in the measurement of hydrogen in power transformer products. The Company develops carbon monoxide sensor that can last for 10,000 hours on a single battery. The Company's carbon nanotube technology is for use in biosensors. Sensors based on carbon nanotubes or other nanomaterials can be used to detect chemical, organic, or biological warfare agents, as well as explosives, hydrogen, ammonia and numerous other chemicals.
Nanocomposites
The Company is in the advanced stages of development of nanomaterials using carbon nanotube (CNT) and! other composites. Epoxies are used in industries with worldwide markets, with applications, including adhesives, paints, coatings, and composites. In addition to epoxy resins, the Company develops other types of resins, including polyesters and vinyl esters. Vinyl esters are used in a variety of industrial applications, including storage tanks, piping, and construction. The Company develops a process for coating nylon pellets with CNTs to improves electrical conductivity. Nylon 6 with improved electrical conductivity can be used for its anti-static qualities, electrostatic discharge, and electromagnetic/RF shielding.
Thermal Management
The Company markets thermal management material called CarbAl. CarbAl provides a passive thermal management solution for temperature control issues that plague electronics manufacturers. CarbAl is a carbon based metal nanocomposite comprised of 80% carbonaceous matrix and a dispersed metal component of 20% aluminum. The Company also develops a simplified version of CarbAl based on graphite.
Conductive Inks
The Company develops aluminum and silver inks and pastes that is ideal for use in the production of solar cells. The Company also develops aluminum paste that can be used in current solar cell production.
The Company competes with Zyvex Performance Materials, GSI Creos, Amroy Europe, Ltd., DuPont and Ferro
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Anuchit Nguyen]
India�� S&P BSE Sensex rose, holding at a three-year high, amid better-than-estimated corporate earnings. Engineering company Larsen & Toubro Ltd. (LT) rallied to a three-month high and Asian Paints Ltd. (APNT) surged about 6 percent after reporting profit that beat forecasts.
10 Best Medical Stocks To Watch Right Now: Conmed Corp (CNMD)
CONMED Corporation (CONMED), incorporated on February 10, 1970, is a medical technology company/ The Company emphasizes on surgical devices and equipment for minimally invasive procedures and monitoring. The Company's products are used by surgeons and physicians in a range of specialties, including orthopedics, general surgery, gynecology, neurosurgery, and gastroenterology. The Company operates in five segments: CONMED Endoscopic Technologies, CONMED Endosurgery, CONMED Electrosurgery, CONMED Linvatec and CONMED Patient Care.
Arthroscopy
The Company offers a range of devices and products for uses in arthroscopic surgery. The Company's arthroscopy products include powered resection instruments, arthroscopes, reconstructive systems, tissue repair sets, metal and bioabsorbable implants as well as related disposable products and fluid management systems. The Company also offers a line of video Endoscopy products suitable for uses in multi-specialty clinical environments beyond orthopedic arthroscopy, including laparoscopy, ear, nose and throat (ENT), gynecology and urology, as well as integrated operating room systems and equipment.
Powered Surgical Instruments
Electric, battery or pneumatic powered surgical instruments are used to perform orthopedic, arthroscopic and other surgical procedures where cutting, drilling or reaming of bone is required. Each power system consists of one or more handpieces and related accessories as well as disposable and limited reusable items (e.g., burs, saw blades, drills and reamers). Powered instruments are categorized as either small bone, large bone or specialty powered instruments. Specialty powered instruments are utilized in procedures such as spinal surgery, neurosurgery, ENT, oral/maxillofacial surgery, and cardiothoracic surgery.
The Company's line of powered instruments is sold principally under the Hall Surgical brand name, for use in large and small bone orthopedic, arthroscopic, oral/maxillofaci! al, podiatric, plastic, ENT, neurological, spinal and cardiothoracic surgeries. Large bone, neurosurgical, spinal and cardiothoracic powered instruments are sold primarily to hospitals while small bone arthroscopic, otolaryngological and oral/maxillofacial powered instruments are sold to hospitals, outpatient facilities and physicians offices.
The Company's powered instruments product line includes the MPower battery system. This orthopedic power system is specifically designed to meet the requirements of orthopedic applications. The MPower battery system allows a facility to purchase a single power system to perform total joint arthroplasty, trauma, arthroscopy, and small bone procedures. The system also provides a multitude of battery technologies to meet the varying needs of hospitals worldwide.
Electrosurgery
The use of electrosurgical units and associated surgical tools is commonplace in the hospital surgical suite, surgery centers, clinics and physician offices. Electrosurgery is routinely used to cut and coagulate tissue and small vessels in open and laparoscopic procedures using energy produced through radio frequency (RF) technology. Electrosurgery can be used in almost all surgical procedures including specialties, such as general, gynecology, orthopedics, cardiology, thoracics, urology, neurology, and dermatology. The Company�� portfolio consist of energy-based products is the Argon Beam Coagulation (ABC) technology. ABC technology combines the use of argon gas and electrosurgical energy to allow the surgeon to produce a surface coagulation which results in less tissue damage.
Patient Care
The Company's patient care product line includes a line of vital signs and cardiac monitoring products, including pulse oximetry equipment and sensors, electrocardiogram (ECG) electrodes and cables, cardiac defibrillation and pacing pads and blood pressure cuffs. The Company also offers a line of suction instruments and tubing for use in the! operatin! g room, as well as a line of intravenous (IV) products for use in the critical care areas of the hospital.
Endosurgery
Endosurgery (also referred to as minimally invasive surgery or laparoscopic surgery) is surgery performed without a incision. The Company's Endosurgical products include the Reflex and PermaClip clip appliers for vessel and duct ligation, Universal S/I (suction/irrigation) and Universal Plus laparoscopic instruments and specialized suction/irrigation electrosurgical instrument systems for use in laparoscopic surgery. The Company also offers cutting and dilating trocars, suction/irrigation accessories, laparoscopic scissors, dissectors and graspers, active electrodes, insufflation needles and linear cutters and staplers for use in laparoscopic surgery. The Company's disposable skin staplers are used to close large skin incisions with surgical staples, thus eliminating the time consuming suturing process. CONMED Endosurgery also offers a uterine manipulator called VCARE for use in increasing the efficiency of laparoscopic hysterectomies and other gynecologic laparoscopic procedures.
Endoscopic Technologies
The Company offers a line of minimally invasive diagnostic and therapeutic products used in conjunction with procedures, which requires flexible endoscopy. The Company's principal customers include gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopists, pulmonologists, and nurses who perform both diagnostic and therapeutic endoscopic procedures in hospitals and outpatient clinics.
The Company's primary focus is to identify, develop, acquire, manufacture and market differentiated medical devices, which improve outcomes in the diagnosis and treatment of gastrointestinal and pulmonary disorders. The Company's diagnostic and therapeutic product offerings for GI and pulmonology include mucosal management devices, forceps, scope management accessories, bronchoscopy devices, dilatation, stricture management devices, hemostasis, biliary devices, and ! polypecto! my.
The Company competes with Smith & Nephew, plc, Arthrex, Inc., Stryker Corporation, ArthroCare Corporation, Johnson & Johnson: DePuy Mitek, Inc., Biomet, Inc., Medtronic, Inc. Midas Rex and Xomed, Synvasive Technology, Inc., Synthes, Inc., MicroAire Surgical Instruments, LLC, Zimmer Holdings, Inc., Covidien Ltd.; Valleylab, Medline Industries, Inc., ERBE Elektromedizin GmbH, Megadyne, Kendall, 3M Company, Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc, U.S.Surgical, Boston Scientific Corporation, Wilson-Cook Medical, Inc, Olympus America, Inc. and STERIS Corporation.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Seth Jayson]
Margins matter. The more CONMED (Nasdaq: CNMD ) keeps of each buck it earns in revenue, the more money it has to invest in growth, fund new strategic plans, or (gasp!) distribute to shareholders. Healthy margins often separate pretenders from the best stocks in the market. That's why we check up on margins at least once a quarter in this series. I'm looking for the absolute numbers, so I can compare them to current and potential competitors, and any trend that may tell me how strong CONMED's competitive position could be.
10 Best Medical Stocks To Watch Right Now: bluebird bio Inc (BLUE)
bluebird bio, Inc., incorporated on April 16, 1992, is a clinical-stage biotechnology company, the Company is focused on transforming the lives of patients with severe genetic and orphan diseases using gene therapy. Gene therapy seeks to introduce a functional copy of the defective gene into a patient�� own cells, a process called gene transfer. Through gene transfer, a functional copy of the mutated gene is delivered to the patient�� cells, thereby correcting the underlying genetic defect that causes aberrant gene expression. As of December 31, 2012, the Company is conducting a Phase I/II clinical study in France evaluating an earlier generation of its LentiGlobin vector for the treatment of �-thalassemia major and SCD. Initial proof-of-concept data from this study were published in Nature. During the year ended December 31, 2013, the Company plans to initiate an extension of this study under a revised protocol for LentiGlobin, which the Company refers to as the HGB-205 Study. The Company also plans o initiate a second Phase I/II clinical program in the United States for LentiGlobin, which the Company refers to as the HGB-204 Study, for �-thalassemia major. In March 2013, the Company entered into a strategic collaboration with Celgene Corporation, or Celgene, to discover, develop and commercialize, disease-altering gene therapies in oncology.
Its gene therapy platform is based on viral vectors that utilize a modified, non-replicating version of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 (HIV-1) virus, that has been stripped of all of the components required for it to self-replicate and infect additional cells. The HIV-1 virus is part of the lentivirus family of viruses, as a result of which the Company refer to its vectors as lentiviral vectors. Its lentiviral vectors are used to introduce a functional copy of a gene to the patient�� own isolated blood stem cells, called hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), which reside in a patient�� bone marrow and are capable of differentiating int! o a wide range of cell types. HSCs are dividing cells, thus its approach allows for sustained expression of the modified gene as the Company is able to take advantage of a lifetime of replication of the gene-modified HSCs. Additionally, the Company has developed a cell-based vector manufacturing process that is both reproducible and scalable.
Adrenoleukodystrophy
Adrenoleukodystrophy is a rare X-linked, inherited, neurological disorder that is often fatal. ALD is caused by mutations in the ABCD1 gene which encodes for a protein called the ALD protein (ALDP), which plays a critical role in the breakdown and metabolism of long-chain fatty acids (VLCFA). Without functional ALDP, VLCFA accumulate in cells including neural cells in which they cause damage to the myelin sheath, a protective and insulating membrane that surrounds nerve cells in the brain. This damage can result in decreased motor coordination and function, visual and hearing disturbances, the loss of cognitive function, dementia, seizures, adrenal dysfunction and other complications, including death. ALD is divided into various sub-segments with three main phenotypes that impact brain function: CCALD (Childhood cerebral adrenoleukodystrophy, AMN (Adrenomyeloneuropathy) and ACALD (Adult Cerebral ALD).
�-thalassemia
�-thalassemia is a rare hereditary blood disorder caused by a genetic abnormality of the �-globin gene resulting in defective red blood cells (RBCs). Genetic mutations cause the absence or reduced production of the beta chains of hemoglobin, or �-globin, thereby preventing the proper formation of hemoglobin A, which normally accounts for greater than 95% of the hemoglobin in the blood of adults. Hemoglobin is an iron-containing protein in the blood that carries oxygen from the respiratory organs to the rest of the body. Hemoglobin A consists of four chains-two chains each of a-globin and �-globin. Normally existing at an approximate 1:1 ratio, genetic mutations that impair t! he produc! tion of �-globin can lead to a relative excess of a-globin, premature death of red blood cells. The clinical implications of the a-globin/�-globin imbalance are two-fold: first, patients lack sufficient RBCs and hemoglobin to effectively transport oxygen throughout the body and can become severely anemic; and second, the shortened life span and ineffective production of RBCs can lead to other complications such as splenomegaly, marrow expansion, bone deformities, and iron overload in organs.
Sickle cell disease
Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a hereditary blood disorder resulting from a mutation in the �-globin gene that causes polymerization of hemoglobin proteins and abnormal red blood cell function. The disease is characterized by anemia, vaso-occlusive pain crisis (a common complication of SCD in which there is severe pain due to obstructed blood flow in the bones, joints, lungs, liver, spleen, kidney, eye, or central nervous system), infections, stroke, overall poor life and early death in a subset of patients. Under low-oxygen conditions, which are exacerbated by the red blood cell abnormalities, the mutant hemoglobin aggregates causing the RBCs to take on a sickle shape (sickle cells), which causes them to aggregate and obstruct small blood vessels, thereby restricting blood flow to organs resulting in pain, cell death and organ damage. If oxygen levels are restored, the hemoglobin can disaggregate and the RBCs return to their normal shape, but over time, the sickling damages the cell membrane and the cells fail to return to the normal shape even in high-oxygen conditions.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Garrett Cook]
Bluebird Bio (NASDAQ: BLUE) shares shot up 34.74 percent to $35.15 following the presentation of positive data on LentiGlobin BB305 at the European Hematology Association (EHA).
- [By David Williamson]
In this video, health-care analyst David Williamson takes a look at the tremendous success of the�Bluebird Bio (NASDAQ: BLUE ) �IPO. The company increased the size of its initial public offering, and priced shares at $17 -- above the top end of its range -- but that still couldn't contain investor appetite for this stock. Shares shot up 50% on the opening day of trading, and have remained there.
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