A great way to boost your portfolio's growth is to get in on companies during the early stages of their growth stories. And one that fits the bill right now is CRISPR Therapeutics (CRSP 0.34%). The biotech company recently won approval for its first product -- one that shows the strength of its gene editing technology and could potentially bring in billions of dollars in revenue.
You won't need a fortune to invest in CRISPR Therapeutics, trading for about $60 a share. But if you have $1,000, you can pick up a solid handful of shares and possibly set yourself up for a big win down the road as the company progresses along the path of earnings growth and additional product approvals. Let's find out more about this ultimate growth stock to pick up right now.
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CRISPR Therapeutics' first product
CRISPR Therapeutics is revving up for its first year as a commercial-stage company. Late last year, the biotech won approval in the U.S. for Casgevy, a treatment for sickle cell disease. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration plans to decide on Casgevy for an additional blood disorder -- beta thalassemia -- in March.
And a few weeks before the U.S. decision, Casgevy scored the world's first authorization of a CRISPR gene editing treatment when the U.K. gave it the nod for both blood disorders. Gene editing involves the fixing of faulty genes responsible for disease. The company's method involves cutting DNA in a particular location and letting a natural repair process take place.
Casgevy could bring in as much as $3.9 billion in peak annual sales, according to Goldman Sachs estimates.
This sounds exciting -- and it is -- but it's important to keep a few points in mind. First, CRISPR Therapeutics shares Casgevy profits with big biotech partner Vertex Pharmaceuticals -- and Vertex takes a 60% share. Second, Casgevy sales aren't likely to surge overnight. That's because the treatment requires a months' long process, so it will take some time to sign patients on, complete treatment, and collect revenue. And the companies still are working through reimbursement agreements with payors, another factor that may delay uptake and therefore revenue.
Still, even if revenue is slow to get rolling and CRISPR Therapeutics takes in a smaller share than its partner, the Casgevy approval represents a huge step for the company. The regulatory nod is a vote of confidence in the technology CRISPR Therapeutics uses across its pipeline, and the product revenue to follow will help the company advance those pipeline candidates.
A focus on next-generation candidates
And speaking of pipeline candidates, CRISPR Therapeutics recently set aside earlier immuno-oncology candidates in favor of its next-generation ones -- that's because these newer candidates show potential for better efficacy and also may be easier to manufacture. Clinical trials are ongoing for both of these next-generation candidates. At the same time, the company is taking one of them -- CTX-112 -- and expanding into autoimmune diseases. It aims to launch a phase 1 trial in systemic lupus erythematosus in the first half of this year. All of this is positive because it shows CRISPR Therapeutics is pouring its resources into the most promising candidates -- and exploring their full potential.
Meanwhile, in the near term, CRISPR Therapeutics also may generate revenue by licensing out its gene editing technology. Last year, Vertex signed a deal to use the technology for its type 1 diabetes program and that brought the biotech a $100 million in an upfront payment as well as $70 million in milestone payments only a few months later.
So, right now, CRISPR Therapeutics is set to begin generating its first product revenue -- and this revenue should fund its pipeline of programs. Two promising immuno-oncology candidates already are involved in clinical trials, meaning they've passed some of the earlier stage safety and efficacy hurdles.
At the same time, CRISPR Therapeutics' shares trade much lower today than they did a few years ago, when we had much less visibility on the company's future. From today's level, the stock clearly could take off -- especially on positive Casgevy sales news and any potential good news from pipeline programs. And all of this makes CRISPR Therapeutics the ultimate growth stock to invest in right now.
