Patience is one of the qualities long-term investors have to cultivate, but doing so isn't easy. Equity markets are entirely unpredictable in the short run. Their ups and down can sometimes rattle even seasoned investors. But it helps to keep a cool head and to know that the companies you have invested in have the fortitude to survive even the most challenging market or economic downturn.

The biotech industry is a great place to look for stocks that can survive down markets and be successful over long periods since the drugs these companies develop are so critical to their customers' lives. Let's look at two biotech stocks to buy today and hold on to for a while: Amgen (NASDAQ: AMGN) and Moderna (NASDAQ: MRNA).

Amgen is a longtime leader in the biotech industry, with a broad and diversified lineup of drugs in multiple areas, as some of the company's most recent approvals indicate. They include Tezspire for treating asthma and Lumakras, a cancer therapy. This is merely the tip of the iceberg; the company boasts many other medicines and a rich pipeline. Although it is in the business of developing its own brand-new drugs, Amgen is also in the biosimilar market.

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Source Fool.com