Investing in Women's Health :: Michael Shulman's Biotech Blitz

Investing in Women's Health

Why is women's health a separate topic for investors? There are specific products - from tests to treatments - targeted and tailored for the women's health market. Categories of procedures and treatments of interest to investors are:

• Breast cancer
• Osteoporosis
• Arthritis
• Cervical cancer
• Ovarian cancer
• Pregnancy
• Menopause
• Menstruation
• Birth control
• Pre-natal care
• Facial aesthetics
• Varicose veins
• Other body aesthetics
• Depression
• Obesity and weight management
• Sexual Dysfunction

You may be surprised by the depth of the list and may also ask why there would be different tests or treatments for the female version of something like arthritis. Well, in practice there are, regardless of the structure of clinical trials or FDA marketing labels or what have you. For example. arthritis treatments for women, in practice, are biased towards one set of treatments and pain killers.

The first place to invest is testing and diagnosis, from new forms of mammograms and bone density scans to advanced blood-based cancer tests.

Another strong market is facial aesthetics -- especially among younger women who want a "light" touch rather than major wrinkle repair or actual surgery.

A third segment to look at are new treatments in Phase II or Phase III trials for osteoporosis and cancer: breast, ovarian and cervical -- all of them still highly lethal.

Finally, If you look at osteoporosis, make sure the company has a large marketing partner with a presence among physicians -- something that's irrelevant for cancer treatments.

A note to ChangeWave subscribers: Keep an eye out for the survey results as they should be available before Labor Day.

Comments

I am preparing a rough draft of a survey the ChangeWave Alliance survey group will turn into a real survey on the topic of women's health. A little more than three years ago I absorbed the results of a similar survey, did some digging, found Hologics (HOLX), recommended it to clients of our institutional service and the stock has tripled since that time. Why is women's health a separate topic for investors? There are specific products - from tests to treatments - targeted and tailored for the women's health market. Categories of procedures and treatments of interest to investors are: • Breast cancer • Osteoporosis • Arthritis • Cervical cancer • Ovarian cancer • Pregnancy • Menopause • Menstruation • Birth control • Pre-natal care • Facial aesthetics • Varicose veins • Other body aesthetics • Depression • Obesity and weight management • Sexual Dysfunction You may be surprised by the depth of the list and may also ask why there would be different tests or treatments for the female version of something like arthritis. Well, in practice there are, regardless of the structure of clinical trials or FDA marketing labels or what have you. For example. arthritis treatments for women, in practice, are biased towards one set of treatments and pain killers. The first place to invest is testing and diagnosis, from new forms of mammograms and bone density scans to advanced blood-based cancer tests. Another strong market is facial aesthetics -- especially among younger women who want a "light" touch rather than major wrinkle repair or actual surgery. A third segment to look at are new treatments in Phase II or Phase III trials for osteoporosis and cancer: breast, ovarian and cervical -- all of them still highly lethal. Finally, If you look at osteoporosis, make sure the company has a large marketing partner with a presence among physicians -- something that's irrelevant for cancer treatments. A note to ChangeWave subscribers: Keep an eye out for the survey results as they should be available before Labor Day.