Chris’ note: The crypto boom is one of the most profitable megatrends we follow here at The Daily Cut. As I noted in yesterday’s dispatch, I had previously urged you to buy bitcoin 93 times since we launched the Cut in August 2018 as a premium e-letter for all paid-up Legacy Research subscribers.
Today’s insight isn’t about crypto – but tech expert Jeff Brown believes the gains coming in this sector could rival the exponential gains we’ve seen in bitcoin over the past several years. It all has to do with tech that’s revolutionizing the healthcare industry.
Read on to find out from Jeff why he sees such massive potential from this sector…
I remember it to this day…
It was June 2015.
A little-known financial asset was gaining the attention of a niche group of investors.
It promised independent financial transactions without the need for a “trusted” third party. It was being compared to gold and silver but was infinitely more transportable.
But even more interesting, the asset had just come off an incredible run, climbing more than 600% in just a few months of 2013.
The asset I’m referring to is bitcoin.
At the time, it wasn’t well understood. It certainly wasn’t yet plastered all over Bloomberg and CNBC.
So in June 2015, I published a write-up on bitcoin. I titled it “What’s the Big Deal With Bitcoin?”
In that essay, I explained how bitcoin operated, how blockchain technology supported it, and why it was progressing so quickly. I even encouraged interested readers to “dip their toes” into cryptocurrency and buy a few bitcoins.
At the time, the cryptocurrency was trading for about $250 a coin. Buying several bitcoins would have been manageable.
We know what happened next…
Starting in June 2015, bitcoin climbed almost 7,900%, hitting nearly $20,000 in late 2017. Even after the pullback in early 2018, bitcoin is still trading over 7,000% above its June 2015 levels.
Investors who listened to me all those years ago made an outstanding return in the span of just a few years.
I mention this story because I believe we’re gearing up for a bull market that will rival bitcoin’s in 2017.
But this bull market has absolutely nothing to do with cryptocurrencies.
Instead, it’s happening in a technology sector that’s heading into overdrive…
The tech trend I’m referring to is called precision medicine. It’s an emerging approach to treat and prevent diseases by considering each person’s genetic makeup, environment, and lifestyle.
This isn’t just another drug or treatment… Precision medicine offers a whole new way of thinking about healthcare.
And my readers will be investing in the companies fueling this trend.
Medicine is nothing like it was 20 years ago. It’s moving much faster now. And the field of biotechnology encompasses a much larger range of technologies than it used to.
There has been a dramatic increase in computer processing power over the last 20 years.
At the same time, we’ve seen exponentially lower costs of “renting” powerful computers and computer storage because of companies like Amazon Web Services (AWS).
When you include powerful artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning software, innovation is happening at a pace that was unforeseen even just a few years ago.
Precision medicine isn’t just about developing individual therapies. These companies are building tech platforms to aid in drug discovery. They’re using semiconductor technology to accelerate the analysis of proteins and enzymes.
There has simultaneously been an explosion in genetic data from human DNA. And we can now apply AI to help us understand the complex relationship between our genetic material and disease.
All of this would be reason enough to take an interest in the precision medicine trend. But earlier this year, something unexpected happened: the COVID-19 pandemic.
And it changed the course of this technology forever.
It may sound strange to say COVID-19 has caused a “boom” in stocks. After all, the virus was chiefly responsible for the fear-induced selling we saw back in March.
But when it comes to this tech, that’s precisely what’s happened. Because of COVID-19, the world has woken up to how powerful modern biotech can be.
Consider just one example…
Back in March, early stage company AbCellera (ABCL – it went public last week) did something many people thought was impossible.
It received a blood sample from a patient who had recovered from COVID-19. The company used AI to screen more than 5 million immune cells in that sample. And it identified about 500 antibodies that helped the patient fight off the virus.
Identifying these antibodies could be the key to treating COVID-19. AbCellera used this as a starting point to create an antibody therapy to potentially cure the virus.
Historically, this process would have taken years to accomplish. How long did it take AbCellera? Just 11 days. Beyond incredible.
Pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly rushed to partner with AbCellera. They worked together on a treatment using these antibodies.
In June, AbCellera sent its COVID-19 antibody therapy to clinical trials. It was the first company to do so.
Then, on November 10, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an emergency use authorization for its antibody treatment.
This is revolutionary work.
Until just recently, this entire process would have taken years. But AbCellera pulled it off in just months.
In all my years as an analyst, I’ve never seen this type of speed from the healthcare industry. And it’s thanks in large part to COVID-19. The virus has lit a fire under this trend.
And the venture capital community is starting to notice…
Look at this chart…
It tracks the amount of venture capital flowing into the biotech and pharmaceutical industry.
$11.6 billion in venture capital (VC) flowed into the industry this past quarter. That makes Q3 2020 the industry’s single best quarter in history for VC funding.
And that’s just the start…
Biotech initial public offerings (IPOs) have raised nearly $20 billion for drug development this year.
That’s an incredible amount of capital flowing into the space.
It’s happening because private capital sees what I see. The precision medicine trend is gearing up for a massive run in the years ahead. And this “smart money” is taking its position now.
Back in 2015, I’m sure plenty of readers were skeptical when I recommended buying a modest amount of bitcoin. I’m sure many ignored that advice. And I’m certain they regret it now.
If you missed the boat on bitcoin in 2015, pay close attention.
I believe the level of awareness for precision medicine among investors will rival that of the cryptocurrency boom in 2017.
We’re going to be curing diseases, not just treating the symptoms… discovering problems before we get sick… and developing personalized therapies when we do get sick rather than relying on the “one-size-fits-all” methods we’ve been using. And we’ll be doing all this faster than we’ve ever been able to before.
As a result, the returns we’ll see from quality tech companies will create lasting, generational wealth.
For investors, the time to get exposure to these stocks is now. Right now.
If you don’t want to miss out, you can learn how to access my top picks in this sector right here.
Regards,
Jeff Brown
Editor, Exponential Tech Investor