An FDA Approval Could Send This Stock Soaring by August
An aging population and unmet clinical needs are driving biotech companies toward advancements in medicine to keep people healthier longer. Bluebird Bio (NASDAQ: BLUE) is one of those companies, and it's hoping that an existing U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) panel review will yield positive results toward the approval of two new drugs. Not only could an FDA approval provide a boost to patients with unmet medical needs, but it could also give investors some confidence following a devastating four-year stock price decline, going from a high of $153 in 2018 to a current share price just under $4.
Independent experts at the FDA are reviewing two of Bluebird's gene therapies for potential approval. The first is beti-cel, which treats people with the beta-thalassemia blood disorder, which results in a lack of oxygen carried throughout the body via red blood cells.
According to the national library of medicine, 1.5% of the total global population -- 80 to 90 million -- are carriers of the disorder. That number continues to expand each year driven by migrating population and inter-ethnic marriage, with upwards of 60,000 carriers born each year.
Source Fool.com