These 2 Stocks Are Heading for a Big Moment. Time to Buy?

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: VRTX) and CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ: CRSP) both are approaching a crucial moment in their stories. The biotech companies are awaiting regulatory decisions for exa-cel, their potential blockbuster treatment for blood disorders.

For Vertex, this represents a first step beyond its cystic fibrosis (CF) specialty. For CRISPR, this represents the company's first commercialized product. So, a nod could be big for both companies. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) aims to issue a decision on exa-cel for sickle cell disease in December and a decision on the candidate for beta thalassemia in March. Now the question is: Should you buy shares of these innovative biotech companies?

Let's start with a closer look at the blood disorders program. Exa-cel uses CRISPR's gene editing technology to offer a potential functional cure for both sickle cell disease and beta thalassemia. The technique involves cutting DNA at a particular spot so that a natural repair process will take place.

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Source Fool.com