- BBH, PBE, and IDNA are the biotech exchange-traded funds (ETFs) with the best one-year trailing total returns.
- Moderna Inc. is BBH’s and IDNA’s top holding, while Repligen Corp. is PBE’s top holding.
What is the largest biotech exchange-traded fund?
IBB is the most popular and liquid method to play this high-growth region of the health-care sector. It is the leading biotech ETF by assets, with more than $11 billion under management. Moderna Inc. (MRNA), Amgen Inc. (AMGN), and Gilead Sciences Inc. are among its top 270 holdings (GILD). The trio isn’t exactly a small upstart, as they’re jointly worth almost $400 billion in market value – and they’re responsible for nearly a quarter of the IBB portfolio’s performance. Despite this, this iShares fund remains a diverse and cost-effective method to play this area of Wall Street, thanks to its extensive holdings.
Is it wise to invest in biotech funds?
Biotech mutual funds invest in companies in the biotechnology area, which is a subset of the broader health sector.
Biotechnology was one of the most successful industries in 2020. Biotech can be a good addition to a diverse portfolio if you’re looking to invest for the long term. In the near term, prices might be unpredictable, but biotech funds have traditionally outperformed the market in the long run.
What exactly is the distinction between IBB and XBI?
On rumors that Senate Republicans are close to introducing new healthcare legislation, a range of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) following the industry rose. Eight of the 15 ETFs that set all-time highs on Wednesday were healthcare funds. A biotech ETF was one of the eight. That could indicate that the biotechnology sector, in which 11 ETFs achieved 52-week highs yesterday, has more room to run. Two of the major biotech ETFs are the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB) and the SPDR S&P Biotech ETF (XBI).
Year to date, IBB, the largest biotech ETF, and XBI, the second-largest biotech ETF, are up 19.2 percent and 32.9 percent, respectively. In comparison, the Health Care Select Sector SPDR gained 16.6 percent (XLV). Biotech stocks typically account for 20 percent to 25 percent of the weights in XLV and similar cap-weighted healthcare ETFs, so tactical investors might choose funds like IBB or XBI to get pure-play biotech exposure. (For more information, see Biotech Funds Could Break Out.)
“Republican efforts to repeal Obamacare, also known as Obamacare,” according to Reuters, “have generated anxiety this year for investors in the industry, but analysts doubt the Senate’s proposal, expected on Thursday, will significantly derail the entire group’s progress.” That’s good news for the healthcare industry and biotech stocks, which plummeted last year after both presidential contenders publicly blasted pharmaceutical corporations over drug prices. The healthcare sector’s annual returns were negative for the first time since 2008.
Investors tend to be confident that political volatility will be minimal for biotech ETFs. XBI has received approximately $23 million in additional money from investors this month, while IBB has received $136.5 million. The ETF’s year-to-date outflows of $376.7 million have been reduced by recent inflows into IBB. Investors have been more excited about XBI this year, investing $158.1 million to the ETF. (See also: Why Biotech Might Be a Game-Changer.)
IBB is a cap-weighted ETF, whereas XBI is an equal-weight ETF. This provides XBI with a possible performance advantage when smaller biotech stocks are performing well, but it also makes the ETF more volatile than its cap-weighted counterpart. XBI has almost 800 basis points higher three-year annualized volatility than IBB.
Biotechnology and healthcare ETFs are gaining traction thanks to strong earnings. The sector’s first-quarter results bolstered optimism. “According to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S, 84 percent of healthcare businesses surpassed analysts’ first-quarter profit projections, compared to 76 percent for the S&P 500 overall,” adds Reuters. (For more information, see A Biotech Primer.)
How does the iShares biotechnology ETF work?
The iShares Biotechnology ETF aims to replicate the performance of an index of biotechnology stocks listed in the United States.
How many patents does a biotech company have?
HYDERABAD, INDIA and MALVERN, PA., Dec. 22, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Ocugen, Inc. (NASDAQ: OCGN), a premier biopharmaceutical company, and Bharat Biotech, a global leader in vaccine research, announced today that they have signed a binding letter of intent (LOI) to co-develop COVAXINTM, an advanced stage whole-viron inactivated vaccine candidate, for the US market.
COVAXINTM has been tested in India in Phase 1 and Phase 2 clinical trials, with promising results in terms of safety and immunogenicity. A Phase 3 clinical trial with 26,000 participants is now underway in India for the vaccine candidate.
According to the LOI, Ocugen will hold US rights to the vaccine candidate and will be responsible for clinical development, registration, and commercialization for the US market in conjunction with Bharat Biotech. The companies have started working together and will complete the specifics of the definitive agreement in the coming weeks. Ocugen’s vaccination expertise, as well as its R&D and regulatory capabilities in the United States, are being used in this partnership.
Ocugen has created a Vaccine Scientific Advisory Board comprised of renowned academic and industry professionals to assess the clinical and regulatory pathways to approval in the US market in preparation for the development of COVAXINTM.
“COVAXINTM takes a tried-and-true method to vaccine development. In Phase 1 and 2 clinical trials, the adjuvanted inactivated viral vaccine candidate evoked robust IgG responses against the SARS-CoV-2 spike (S1) protein, receptor-binding domain (RBD), and nucleocapsid (N) protein, as well as strong cellular responses. COVAXINTM is a vaccine candidate that is distinct from other vaccine candidates currently on the market in the United States, with the potential for broader coverage against numerous virus protein antigens,” stated Harvey Rubin, M.D. Ph.D., a member of Ocugen’s Vaccine Scientific Advisory Board.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has caused unmatched devastation to individual patients and the world,” said David Fajgenbaum, M.D. of the University of Pennsylvania’s Division of Translational Medicine & Human Genetics, Director of the Center for Cytokine Storm Treatment & Laboratory, and member of Ocugen’s Vaccine Scientific Advisory Board. To properly fight back, it will take the kind of unrivaled collaboration and invention that is currently taking place. Vaccines like COVAXINTM, which have the potential to elicit a wide immune response and hence decrease the severity of future COVID-19 outbreaks, could be useful to have in our arsenal.”
“We’re thrilled to be working with Bharat Biotech to deliver COVAXINTM to the US market.” Faced with the coronavirus pandemic, we must all work together to identify solutions that have the potential to save lives and return normalcy to our daily lives. The Phase 1 and Phase 2 trials of COVAXINTM revealed excellent safety and immunogenicity, and we are encouraged by the progress of the Phase 3 trials in India. Dr. Shankar Musunuri, Chairman, CEO, and Co-Founder of Ocugen, stated, “We feel this novel yet conventional approach to immunization has significant potential to appeal to a broad range of the people.”
“The creation and clinical evaluation of COVAXINTM is a watershed moment in Indian vaccinology. COVAXINTM has sparked interest from a number of countries around the world, and we’re thrilled to work with Ocugen to bring it to the US market,” said Dr. Krishna Ella, Chairman and Managing Director of Bharat Biotech.
Bharat Biotech’s COVAXINTM, India’s COVID-19 vaccine, was developed in conjunction with the Indian Council of Medical Research’s National Institute of Virology (NIV). Bharat Biotech’s BSL-3 (Bio-Safety Level 3) bio containment facility developed and manufactured this inactivated vaccine. COVAXINTM is a highly purified and inactivated vaccine produced in a vero cell manufacturing platform with a proven safety record of over 300 million doses distributed.
With more than 140 global patents, a diverse product portfolio of more than 16 vaccines, four biotherapeutics, registrations in more than 116 countries, and WHO Pre-qualifications, Bharat Biotech has developed a strong track record of innovation. The company has created a world-class vaccination and bio-therapeutics, research and product development, Bio-Safety Level 3 production, and vaccine supply and distribution infrastructure in Genome Valley in Hyderabad, India, a global biotech powerhouse.
Bharat Biotech, which has developed vaccines for influenza H1N1, Rotavirus, Japanese Encephalitis, Rabies, Chikungunya, Zika, and the world’s first tetanus-toxoid conjugated vaccine for Typhoid, has delivered more than 6 billion doses of vaccinations worldwide.
This press release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties as defined by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. To identify these forward-looking statements, we may use terms like “predicts,” “believes,” “potential,” “proposed,” “continue,” “estimates,” “anticipates,” “expects,” “plans,” “intends,” “may,” “could,” “might,” “will,” “should,” or other words that convey uncertainty about future events or outcomes. Such statements are subject to a variety of key factors, risks, and uncertainties, all of which could cause actual events or results to differ materially from our current estimates. These and other risks and uncertainties are detailed in our periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), including the risk factors outlined in the “Risk Factors” section of our quarterly and annual reports. Any forward-looking statements included in this press release are only valid as of the date of publication. Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update forward-looking statements contained in this press release after the date of this press release, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.
What is the Vanguard CRSP programme?
The CRSP series of Vanguard ETF strategic model portfolios includes 10 Vanguard ETFs from the United States and around the world. The equity part is based on the University of Chicago’s CRSP benchmark, which follows broad-market domestic stock indices. The equity exposure of the series is designed to mirror Standard & Poor’s (S&P) standards.