We won’t know for sure for another 79 years.
But already, there are some strong contenders.
You may say self-driving electric cars and trucks… They’re going to overhaul how we commute and travel.
Or you may say blockchain… It’s the decentralized computing tech behind bitcoin (BTC) that makes banks and central banks obsolete.
Another possible answer is artificial intelligence (AI).
Already, AIs can beat the best human chess players and find drug candidates quicker than any regular computer program.
And our bleeding-edge tech investing expert, Jeff Brown, says AIs could soon help us cure diseases… reset the climate… even solve world hunger.
But I (Chris Lowe) have been closely following Jeff’s research since he joined the Legacy Research team in 2015. And for my money, the tech that will change our world the most is what he calls the “God key” – CRISPR gene-editing.
And as I’ll show you today, early investors stand to make a fortune.
If huge news out of a CRISPR clinical trial over the weekend is anything to go by, we’re still in the early innings of this megatrend.
It gives us god-like powers over our bodies… and our health.
It’s based on something bacteria have been doing for billions of years.
They keep track of viruses that attack them. Then they use a molecular “scissors” to cut up those viruses if they attack again.
And as Jennifer Doudna was the first to discover, in 2012, we can use those scissors to edit our genome.
She’s an American biochemist who won a Nobel Prize in 2020 for her work on CRISPR.
I don’t want your eyes glazing over… But at a high level, here’s how it works.
Our genome is our complete set of DNA. It’s what makes each of us unique.
Variants in our genomes cause at least 6,000 inherited diseases. These include multiple sclerosis, a disease of the brain and the spinal cord… cystic fibrosis, which mostly affects the lungs… and Huntington’s disease, which attacks the nerve cells in the brain.
And although these are often described as rare, one in five of us carries genetic variants that cause these diseases. If you’re one of them, you have a time bomb in your DNA. You just don’t know it yet.
That’s where the molecular scissors Doudna discovered comes in.
Let’s go to Jeff for more on that…
CRISPR allows us to “cut” out unhealthy segments of our genome… and “paste” in healthy segments.
That’s why I call CRISPR the “God Key” – it gives us godlike control over our bodies.
It’s the biggest breakthrough since antibiotics. You will be cured before you even feel sick.
Jeff’s been spreading the word on genetic editing since he joined Legacy Research in 2015. The God key was one of the big ideas we used to launch his Exponential Tech Investor advisory.
As Jeff has written to you about before in these pages, CRISPR gene-editing has already helped patients overcome two rare blood diseases – beta thalassemia and sickle cell anemia.
Researchers had to take blood stem cells from the patients… edit them with CRISPR… then infuse these edited cells back into the patients.
But over the weekend, researchers went a step further.
Two biotech companies – Intellia Therapeutics (NTLA) and Regeneron (REGN) – were tackling an inherited disease called ATTR.
It’s caused by the buildup of a type of protein in your blood vessels, your bones, and your major organs. And it can lead to you needing heart and liver transplants.
And they took a different approach.
Instead of the more difficult and laborious process of extracting cells… editing them… and then putting them back in patients’ bodies, they used a direct infusion.
That’s a first. And it worked extremely well – in one case, turning off the disease gene close to 100%.
Back to Jeff…
The results of this trial are extraordinary. The researchers dosed the patients with a one-time treatment via an intravenous infusion. This is a simple process. From there, the therapy deactivates a gene in the liver.
Even more extraordinary… this is easy-to-administer therapy that could be a permanent cure. The team didn’t observe any serious side effects in any of the patients. So early indicators point toward this therapy being safe to use, too.
This is not only a ground-breaking step for CRISPR genetic-editing technology. As you can imagine, for folks in the know, it makes gene-editing one of the hottest plays in biotech today.
Take Exponential Tech Investor model portfolio holding CRISPR Therapeutics (CRSP).
It’s up 8.5% from where it opened on Friday, before Intellia and Regeneron announced the results of the ATTR trial.
That brings the gains on this stock to 181% since Jeff recommended it in March last year.
Something similar happened with another of Jeff’s recommendations, Beam Therapeutics (BEAM).
It’s up 17% since the opening bell on Friday.
That brings the gains for BEAM in the model portfolio to 351% since Jeff recommended it in August last year.
And a third CRISPR pick of Jeff’s is up 156%.
You can catch his latest updates on CRISPR… and the other tech megatrends he follows… in his free daily tech investing e-letter, The Bleeding Edge.
So if you’re not already, make sure you’re signed up here. And put The Bleeding Edge at the top of your daily reads.
And if you’re looking for a “one-click” way to play the gene-editing revolution, the next-best option to Jeff’s individual picks is the ARK Genomic Revolution ETF (ARKG).
This actively managed exchange-traded fund (ETF) invests in companies focused on extending and enhancing the quality of human life through new breakthroughs in biotech.
It gives you exposure to some leading CRISPR companies.
It’s up about 60% since we first put it on your radar in your August 6, 2020 dispatch of The Daily Cut.
And if Jeff is right, and we’re still in the early stages of the gene-editing megatrend, the really big gains are yet to come.
Just bear in mind that this ETF charges a fee of 0.75%. That’s quite high by ETF standards.
Regards,
Chris Lowe
June 30, 2021
Bray, Ireland