Forget "Pharmaceuticals" - The Future Of Biotechnology

Forget "Pharmaceuticals" - The Future Of Biotechnology By Victor Hill Investors often suppose that biotechnology is all about the development of new wonder drugs which zap bacteria and viruses – pharmacology. But in fact the best investment prospects probably reside in other, newer fields of medicine, of which there are several. Today I'm taking a peek into just two of the emerging disciplines which could transform medicine within our lifetimes: immunotherapy and synthetic biology. Recently I wrote that Big Pharma has shown itself to be inadequate to the challenge of antibiotic resistance – because the development of new blockbuster drugs no longer pays. The economics of pharmacology have become unfavourable. The typical cost of bringing a new drug to market has soared from US$150 million to at least US$1 billion in the last 20 years. And for every successful drug brought to market there might be a dozen which are never commercialised. The pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) is more interested in producing high margin multivitamins than in developing new blockbusters. But I also reflected recently in another piece that the extension of human longevity, which has more than doubled over the last 150 years, has been driven as much by soap as by penicillin... Click Here To Read The Full Story The Master Investor Market Report The FTSE 100 closed the day at 6,522.26, a decrease of 55.57 points. The FTSE 250 fell 348.79 points to finish at 16,116.70. The FTSE All Share dropped 34.18 points to finish at 3,521.27. The FTSE AIM All Share finished at 713.57, up by 0.09 points. Shares in ship broker Clarkson (CKN) sank by 16.10% to 1,850p after the company announced that freight rates have continued to fall across the first half of 2016, almost reaching all-time lows in some areas. The recent improvements in oil prices have led to some encouraging signs of offshore broking activity, but it will take some time and additional price movement for this to reach meaningful volumes. The financial division is also struggling as low rates and asset values have made trading more spot-focused.   Download our July issue today! Click HERE to read. Financial services giant HSBC (HSBA) completed the sale of its Brazilian operations on the 1st of July. The sale was part of the group's global strategy to reduce complexity and optimise its global network. Investec downgraded the stock from a "hold" to a "sell" with a target price of 425p. The broker said that the bank had escaped the hit that rivals had suffered after the Brexit vote, but they expect a forthcoming interest rate cut to impact results. HSBC shares fell by 6.10p to 463.75p. Telematics and data specialist Trakm8 (TRAK) has increased its revenues by 44% to £25.6 million during the year ended 31st March due to a combination of good organic growth and the acquisitions of DCS Systems and  Route Monkey. Profits before taxation also climbed by 76% to £3 million. The company won a number of substantial contracts and, given the levels of recurring revenue, management are confident that this growth can continue during the current financial year. Trakm8 shares climbed 15p to 250p. Tomorrow's news today Persimmon (PSN) and Carillion (CLLN) will release trading statements. Quote of the day "What you get free costs too much." -Jean Anouilh Latest Stories Chart of the Day: Moneysupermarket By Zak Mir I have to admit, the irritation factor associated with Moneysupermarket advertisements make it almost impossible to deliver an objective appraisal of the company. For this reason, there is always the charting perspective... Click Here To Read The Full Story The Evil Diaries: St Peter Port Capital, Tory Treachery and Lord Monson By Evil Knievil Yet again, St Peter Port Capital (SPPC) has produced figures that are utterly at variance with the share price, now 10p. This morning's statement, covering the year ended 31st March 2016, declares tnav of 37.38p… Click Here To Read The Full Story Better 'Hedgit' than 'Losit' on Brexit By Filipe R Costa "What we should grasp, however, from the lessons of European history is that, first, there is nothing necessarily benevolent about programmes of European integration; second, the desire to achieve grand utopian plans often poses a grave threat to freedom"… Click Here To Read The Full Story Zak's Weekend Chart Round-Up By Zak Mir FTSE 100 Stocks ARM Holdings (ARM): Push to 1,300p Expected It has been an extraordinary week in the aftermath of the Brexit vote, which has influenced much more than politics… Click Here To Read The Full Story Chart of the Day: Condor Gold By Zak Mir It may be said that as far as the recent price action of Condor Gold is concerned, only Randgold Resources has really put the performance here in the shade. On the basis that "Elephants don't gallop", this may be a situation to consider for small cap fans of precious metals… Click Here To Read The Full Story   Join the movement on social media: Copyright 2016 Master Investor Ltd, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted in at our website. If a Daily Bulletin is too frequent, why not opt in to our once weekly mailing list for a round up of the week's news straight to your inbox. Once Weekly Round-Up Our mailing address is: Suite 88, 22 Notting Hill Gate, London W11 3JE Master Investor is a trading name of Master Investor Limited. Material contained within Master Investor Magazine and its website is for general information purposes only and is not intended to be relied upon by individual readers in making (or refraining from making) any specific investment decisions. Master Investor Ltd does not accept any liability for any losses suffered by any user as a result of any such decision.

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