By Tom Burnett CFA
Most investors are familiar the larger companies (Gilead, Amgen, Biogen) that are active in the biotech industry, but it can be a difficult task to find smaller companies that are on the verge of successful product innovations. One useful tool for finding new biomedical products and companies is the federal government website maintained by the HHS Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response’s BARDA (Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority) Division. According to recent press releases, BARDA has funded 54 different products/therapies that have obtained regulatory approval.
The well-publicized search for COVID-19 vaccines and therapies provides an excellent example of how an investor can use the BARDA database to discover new products and biotech companies that might otherwise go unnoticed. One important feature of this information is that BARDA has decided to fund a proposal, giving the receiving company independent validation of its product potential.
Looking solely at COVID-19 related therapies and diagnostics, BARDA has publicly disclosed its awards on a section of the HHS website. This sub-site can be found at www.medicalcountermeasures.gov which includes a section called “COVID-19 Portfolio”. This section lists the more than 20 companies that have received funding grants from the BARDA office. The companies are identified (not all of them are publicly held) with descriptions of the products and the amount of the grant’s funding. Links to the announcement press release are also provided.
Investors looking for novel ideas in the biotech space should investigate the BARDA websites as possible sources for companies that are ‘under the general radar screen’ and might otherwise go unnoticed. In this report, we have focused on the COVID-19 pandemic, but BARDA websites provide a wealth of data on other health issues and investors can be well served by using this public database to look for ‘hidden’ information and ideas.
Tom Burnett CFA is Director of Research