Financial media star Jim Cramer is touting the biotech sector — and the numbers he’s highlighting are rich. Cramer’s pushing an e-book called the Biotech Bible with stats seem to promise as much Good News as the New Testament. (The name Biotech Bible is no accident.) Below three key reasons why Cramer says investors need to recognize that biotech’s moment is now — that it’s a tremendous sector entering an exciting phase flush with opportunities.
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— Less than 100 drugs were approved for rare diseases in 1993, a number that grew to 500 last year
— Biopharmaceutical R&D investment totaled $51 billion in 2014
— The pharma pipeline is rich, with 70% of drugs in the R&D queue being first-in-class propositions
Cramer’s three key data points show a rising biotech tide — and a bigger biotech world in general. Cramer points out that while tech stocks like Facebook get more media attention, some biotech have risen just as steeply over the last decade. Celgene is up over 800% during that time; Gilead Sciences rose 750%. Those are the unicorns, of course, the big winners among dozens of also-rans. But Cramer’s larger point is indisputable. Larger populations living longer lives will mean big profits for companies who can keep those lives happier and healthier into old age.
