Imagine buying shares in CSL Limited (ASX: CSL) back in 1999 at less than $4.50 a share! Fifteen years later and those same shares have increased in value by over 1,600% and currently trade at $75.66 – an outstanding result.
Of course, back in 1999 CSL was a small, relatively unknown company and few would have had the foresight to realise that the business would grow into a $35.7 billion global giant.
Only time will tell whether the following four stocks will grow into much larger businesses and become leaders in their respective fields, however, each company currently owns interesting technology and has significant growth potential.
Regeneus Ltd (ASX: RGS) – founded in 2007, Regeneus has a market capitalisation of $50 million and as the name alludes to, this is a regenerative medicine company. Regeneus is developing therapies focused on musculoskeletal and oncology issues for both human and animal health markets. The group is also looking into developing both a canine and a human cancer vaccine which would obviously have enormous revenue potential if successfully created.
Viralytics Ltd. (ASX: VLA) – with a market capitalisation of $59 million, Viralytics is focused on the development and commercialisation of cancer immunotherapies. Its lead product CAVATAK is currently in Phase 2 clinical trials in the UK. It would appear that investors with a deep understanding of Viralytics' technology are backing the group with the company successfully raising $27 million from international healthcare institutions in March 2014. Not only is this a vote of confidence but the capital raising also provides sufficient funding for Viralytics through to the end of 2016.
Phylogica Limited (ASX: PYC) – owns a unique proprietary class of peptide therapeutics and has a market capitalisation of $17 million. While most drugs target the walls of a cell, Phylogica has developed a delivery technology which helps a drug gain access inside the cell. This peptide-based application is an advantage over traditional antibody and protein therapies and is particularly relevant for cancer treatments. This breakthrough appears to be highly sought after with five of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies including Roche and Pfizer, entering into drug discovery collaborations with the group.
Imugene Limited (ASX: IMU) – given the severe effects and high numbers of the community impacted by different forms of cancer it is little wonder that many bio-technology firms focus their efforts on bringing oncology therapies to market. Imugene, which has a market capitalisation of $13 million, is working in the rapidly evolving area of "immune-oncology". The idea behind this field is to enable the patient's immune system to fight cancer; for example, Imugene is developing a product which would enable patients to produce their own antibodies to attack their tumours, thereby improving a patient's prospect of survival.
