Alzheimer’s Disease is a devastating disease that will hit million of
Americans as they age - which is why small cap Alzheimer’s stocks like
Prana Biotechnology Limited (NASDAQ: PRAN), Adeona
Pharmaceuticals (NYSEAMEX: AEN), Nymox Pharmaceutical
Corporation (NASDAQ: NYMX), Intellect Neurosciences
(ILNS) and Anavex Life Sciences Corp (OTC: AVXL) along
with large cap stocks like Elan Corporation plc (NYSE: ELN)
and Forest Laboratories (NYSE: FRX) need to be
remembered by investors. To start with, Prana Biotechnology has begun
recruitment and screening for a 12 month Phase II Imaging trial to test its
Alzheimer’s drug while Adeona Pharmaceuticals is preparing a larger clinical
study to further develop its zinc-based tablet (AEN-100) as a drug. Meanwhile,
Nymox Pharmaceutical Corporation has the US plus global patent rights for the
use of statin drugs for the treatment and prevention of Alzheimer's while
Intellect Neurosciences has patents for its drugs pending in the US in addition
to patents already obtained in Japan, China and several other countries.
Finally, Anavex Life Sciences has two potential blockbuster Alzheimer’s drugs
with one in heading into Phase 2a clinical trials while the other is heading
into animal testing.
Why Invest in Alzheimer’s Stocks?
There are plenty of reasons why pharma or biotech companies are searching for
a cure or a preventive treatment for Alzheimer’s. For starters, there hasn’t
been much progress towards finding either a cure or a preventive treatment. That
alone gives pharma or biotech companies a reason to take a closer look at the
disease.
Likewise, consider some of the following statistics
from the Alzheimer’s Association:
- In 2011, 5.4 million Americans of all ages were estimated to have
Alzheimer’s Disease – including 5.2 million people at or over age 65 and 200,000
who were younger. Specifically, 4% of sufferers were younger than 65, 6% were 65
to 74 years, 45% were 75 to 84 years and 45% were 85 years or older.
- Moreover, one in eight people at or over 65 years old and nearly half of all
people aged 85 or older had Alzheimer’s Disease.
- More women than men suffer from Alzheimer’s with nearly two-thirds of all
Americans living with the disease now being women.
- Older African Americans and Hispanics are proportionately more likely than
older whites to have Alzheimer’s Disease along with other dementias. In fact,
older African Americans are probably about twice as likely to have the disease
along with other dementias as older whites while Hispanics are about 1.5 times
as likely to have it or other dementias as older whites.
In other words and as the Baby Boomers age and as non-whites make up a
greater percentage of the American population, the numbers of Americans with
Alzheimer’s Disease will continue to increase.
Alzheimer’s Stocks For Investors
Given just how many Americans suffer from Alzheimer’s Disease, a number of
large cap pharma stocks like AstraZeneca (NYSE: AZN),
Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) and Pfizer (NYSE:
PFE) are active in the market to find either a preventive treatment or
a cure. However, investors might want to take a closer look at these two large
cap Alzheimer’s stocks that are not household names:
- Forest Laboratories (NYSE: FRX) is an international
pharmaceutical manufacturer and marketer known for its well-established central
nervous system and cardiovascular franchises along with innovations in
anti-infective and respiratory medicine. In mid-January, Forest Laboratories
reported that net sales for fiscal 3Q2012 rose 9.2% year-over-year to $1.2
billion while sales of Namenda® (memantine HCl) for the treatment of moderate
and severe Alzheimer’s disease rose 6.4% to $340.4 million. On Thursday, Forest
Laboratories fell 0.50% to $31.62 (FRX has a 52 week trading range of $28.47 to
$40.52 a share for a market cap of $8.45 billion.
- Elan Corporation plc (NYSE: ELN) is an Ireland based
neuroscience-focused biotechnology company whose work includes research,
development and commercial activities for neurodegenerative diseases (such as
Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease) along autoimmune diseases
(including multiple sclerosis). In September 2009, a subsidiary of Johnson &
Johnson (JANSSEN Alzheimer Immunotherapy) acquired substantially all of the
assets and rights of Elan Corporation plc related to its Alzheimer's
Immunotherapy Program (AIP) and bapineuzumab. Elan Corporation plc is also
studying development scenarios to advance ELND005. A 2010 clinical study did not
achieve significance on co-primary outcome measures but a biological effect in a
subgroup of patients was demonstrated. On Thursday, Elan Corporation plc fell
4.41% to $13.65 (ELN has a 52 week trading range of $6.10 to $14.40 a share) for
a market cap of $7.99 billion.
Oon the other hand, investors who have a greater stomach for risk should be
taking a closer look at these small cap stocks which also have a focus or
emphasis on Alzheimer’s disease:
- Prana Biotechnology Limited (NASDAQ: PRAN) is an Australia
based biotech company focused on disease modifying therapeutics for the
treatment of common neurological disorders and a particular focus on
Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Huntington's diseases with other potential
applications including specific cancers and age-related Macular Degeneration.
Back in December, Prana Biotechnology announced that it was beginning
recruitment and screening of patients for a 12 month Phase II Imaging trial to
test PBT2 – its Alzheimer’s drug. Its worth noting that Prana Biotechnology had
already announced that PBT2 improves synaptic activity in neurons needed for
memory. On Thursday, Prana Biotechnology rose 5.42% to $1.75 (PRAN has a 52 week
trading range of $1.25 to $4.50 a share) for a market cap of $49.07 million.
- Adeona Pharmaceuticals (NYSEAMEX: AEN) is a biotechnology
company focused on the development of synthetic DNA-based therapeutics and
disease-modifying medicines for serious illnesses. Adeona Pharmaceuticals is
preparing a larger clinical study to evaluate patients diagnosed with mild to
moderate Alzheimer’s disease who are age 70 and over in order to develop the
Company’s proprietary zinc-based tablet (AEN-100) as a drug. This new clinical
study will fall under an Investigational New Drug application that will be
filed with the FDA. In addition, Adeona Pharmaceuticals is developing
reaZin™ for the dietary management of zinc deficiency that is
associated with Alzheimer's disease. reaZin™ is intended as a
prescription medical food. On Thursday, Adeona Pharmaceuticals rose 1.02% to
$2.17 (AEN has a 52 week trading range of $0.42 to $2.35 a share) for a market
cap of $67.9 million.
- Nymox Pharmaceutical Corporation (NASDAQ: NYMX) specializes
in the research and development of drugs and diagnostic products for the aging
population. Right now, Nymox Pharmaceutical Corporation’s lead drug candidate is
NX-1207 for the treatment of an enlarged prostate or benign prostatic
hyperplasia (BPH). Its currently in Phase 3 trials in the US and late in
December, the company received an equity financing commitment of $15 million for
the drug and for general corporate purposes. Nymox Pharmaceutical Corporation
also has the US and global patent rights for the use of statin drugs for the
treatment and prevention of Alzheimer's disease and has developed the
AlzheimAlert test. However and in the late 1990s, Nymox Pharmaceutical
Corporation ran into trouble
with the Alzheimer's Association and several neurologists who complained about
the company’s advertising campaign marketed directly to consumers and that the
test did not have independent verification that it worked. On Thursday, Nymox
Pharmaceutical Corporation rose 6.76% to $8.69 (NYMX has a 52 week trading range
of $6.00 to $9.89 a share) for a market cap of $284.6 million.
- Intellect Neurosciences (ILNS) is biopharmaceutical company
involved in the discovery and development of a new “disease-modifying”
therapeutic drugs that are designed to slow, arrest and ultimately prevent
Alzheimer's disease and other serious neurological disorders. Intellect
Neurosciences is developing three separate platform technologies:
ANTISENILIN® , RECALL-VAX and CONJUMAB-A. However and late in
December, Intellect Neurosciences announced that it had filed an appeal after a
preliminary decision of the European Patent Office (EPO) to revoke the company's
ANTISENILIN® patents due to a challenge from Elan
Pharmaceuticals and Wyeth who are co-developing
Bapineuzumab – a drug that’s in Phase 3 clinical trials for Alzheimer's disease.
Nevertheless, Intellect Neurosciences has ANTISENILIN® patents pending in the US
and it has been granted patents in Japan, China and several other countries that
have not been challenged. On Thursday, Intellect Neurosciences closed at $0.05
(ILNS has a 52 week trading range of $0.03 to $0.21 a share) for a market cap
of $3.74 million.
Finally, Anavex Life Sciences Corp (OTC: AVXL) is an
Alzheimer’s stock that small cap investors might want to pay particular
attention to. Specifically, Anavex Life Sciences is a biopharmaceutical company
engaged in the discovery and development of new drugs for the treatment of
neurological diseases and cancer that utilizes its proprietary drug discovery
SIGMACEPTOR™ platform.
Anavex Life Sciences has two Alzheimer’s drugs in the works: ANAVEX 2-73 and
ANAVEX 1-41 (a back-up compound). ANAVEX 2-73 has successfully finished a Phase
1 single ascending dose clinical trial with a Phase 2a clinical trial expected
to begin later this year and it has already been shown to have a best-in class
profile thanks to its potency in validated animal models, no toxicity to date
(in animal testing), a novel mode of action and the potential to blunt
endoplasmic reticulum (ER), mitochondrial and oxidative stress – all thought to
be contributory causes of Alzheimer’s.
Meanwhile, ANAVEX 1-41, Anavex Life Sciences’s back up compound, is now in
the advanced preclinical phase. Already, preclinical tests have revealed
significant neuroprotective benefits through the prevention of oxidative stress
- a type of stress that damages and destroys cells and is believed to be a
primary cause of Alzheimer’s Disease. ANAVEX 1-41 has also shown the ability to
prevent the expression of caspase-3 – a type of enzyme that plays a key role in
so-called apoptosis or programmed cell death along with the loss of cells in the
part of the brain (the hippocampus) that regulates learning, emotion and memory.
Hence, Anavex Life Sciences’s has begun manufacturing of the compound and when
there are sufficient quantities available, it will begin preclinical studies on
large animals and eventually Phase 1 trials in humans.
In other words, Anavex Life Sciences is working on two potentially
blockbuster Alzheimer’s drugs or at the vary least, it has one potential
blockbuster along with a backup should the other one not pan out. On Thursday,
Anavex Life Sciences fell 5.98% to $1.73 (AVXL has a 52 week trading range of
$1.05 to $4.29 a share) for a market cap of $47 million.
The Bottom Line. Given just how common Alzheimer’s Disease
is among older Americans, investors would be wise to remember both large cap
Alzheimer’s stocks like Elan Corporation plc and Forest Laboratories along with
small caps players like Prana Biotechnology Limited, Adeona Pharmaceuticals,
Nymox Pharmaceutical Corporation, Intellect Neurosciences and Anavex Life
Sciences Corp as anyone of them could find a cure or a preventive treatment.
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