You could be forgiven for thinking that COVID is over. After all, as vaccination rates have soared, the rate of new infections has plummeted in Canada, the USA, and the EU.
But all is not what it seems. COVID-19 is a resourceful little virus – every time it runs into problems, it mutates. And as India, the UK, and other countries have found out, the Delta variant is one mean variant.
According to The Lancet, one shot of the mRNA vaccines (Pfizer & Moderna) is only 33% effective against the Delta variant. Now it isn’t all bad news – two shots of these vaccines provide symptomatic immunity 88% of the time. But then, there’s another problem – the Global South. While the developed world is getting its shots, the developing world is still behind the curve. And the longer they go unvaccinated, the greater the potential for further mutations.
All this highlights a sobering point – COVID-19 will be with us for the foreseeable future. Now that may sound depressing, but look on the bright side – this situation offers investors a way to make money, all while vanquishing this cursed virus.
In this post, we’ll highlight three biotech firms making moves in the COVID-19 space.
Enzolytics (OTCMKTS: ENZC)
For over four decades, Enzolytics has dedicated themselves to battling humankind’s most feared diseases. In the past, they’ve come up with treatments for influenza, tetanus, rabies, and diphtheria.
However, in recent years, they’ve focused much of their bandwidth on developing innovative HIV drugs, such as one that restores immune function in advanced AIDS patients.
But from 2020 onward, they’ve also taken aim at COVID-19. By acquiring BioClonetics, they acquired its intellectual property, which included monoclonal antibody treatments for HIV and COVID-19.
So far, it appears Enzolytics took that research and has made excellent progress with it. So much so, their work has been featured in a white paper written by Intel. Indeed, it seems like Enzolytics has stumbled upon a gold mine. Apparently, back in 1999, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases tried to patent the same process BioClonetics was working on. Fortunately, they failed.
It’s important to keep these facts in mind when evaluating ENZC. Because as we speak, short-sellers are busy building a bear case against this stock. They’re claiming that Enzolytics hadn’t actually completed therapeutic trials for its HIV drugs. And even worse, they’re implying that ENZC execs are guilty of embezzling funds.
Upon closer examination, it’s fairly obvious these assertions are false. But that hasn’t stopped recent selloffs of ENZC – a situation made worse by a badly-timed stock sale by Livington Asset Management. Because they can’t own more than 10% of ENZC, this private equity firm was forced to sell outstanding shares after their notes converted.
At present, ENZC is trading around 0.16. Earlier in the year, it surged to over 0.70 before the shorts shook out paper hands. If you’re looking for a biotech firm with a good track record and promising products, ENZC might be a worthwhile pickup.
Todos Medical (OTCMKTS: TOMDF)
In biotech circles, Todos Medical is best known for its work in cancer tests. This company offers hope that one day, you’ll be able to diagnose a variety of cancers via a simple blood test. If they succeed, they could save millions of lives through early detection.
However, they’ve also waded into the COVID-19 sector. Currently, they’re working on creating an oral antiviral meant to shorten the duration of COVID-19 infections. It works by targeting 3CL protease, the most common protease in all coronaviruses. By inhibiting its function, it’s thought this drug can help stop the replication of COVID-19.
Todos isn’t alone in this endeavor. As we speak, Pfizer is also developing a COVID antiviral. But here’s the good news – Todos is further along in the clinical trial process. At press time, their drug is in Phase 2, while Pfizer’s is still in phase 1.
There are two plausible scenarios for what will happen next – either Todos will get their drug to market first, or Pfizer will acquire them. In either case, TOMDF shareholders win. Now, the Todos drug could experience massive failure, but given their current position, this outcome is less likely.
TOMDF is an affordable play for penny stock investors, as it is currently trading at 0.044. Biotech firms are always a risk, but Todos seems like a good gamble to us.
VBI Vaccines Inc. (NASDAQ: VBIV)
In early 2021, Canadians were aghast. While the likes of Pfizer, Moderna, and AstraZeneca promised Canada millions of vaccine doses, the USA, UK, and the EU moved to commandeer these shipments. For the first time in modern history, vaccine nationalism has reared its ugly head.
Things are better now – after the above-mentioned nations secured enough supply, shipments to Canada resumed. But the bitter taste of being pushed aside by supposed “allies” still lingers. And so, there’s now a push to prioritize made-in-Canada treatments & vaccines, both for COVID and future pandemics.
VBI Vaccines, a US-based biotech firm with research facilities in Ottawa, is well-positioned to take advantage of this trend. In August 2020, the Canadian government signed a deal with them to produce a vaccine candidate by 2022. As part of that process, VBI recently signed a manufacturing deal with Mississauga’s Therapure Biomanufacturing to produce their vaccines.
At the moment, VBIV is trading just under 3.90 on the NASDAQ. That’s a touch more expensive than most penny stocks, but given their government contract and the proliferation of COVID variants, this play feels like a solid bet to us.
Be Part of the COVID Solution
You could sit back and sulk about the pandemic. Or you could do something about it. Now you’re not a research scientist, and neither are we. But we can bankroll them – and in doing so, not only can we beat COVID, but we can get rich in the process.