One of my favourite companies on the ASX would have to be biotech giant CSL Limited (ASX: CSL).
Thanks largely to its successful immunoglobulin business, CSL has grown into a $60 billion industry behemoth in the last decade.
Three shares which are aiming to follow in CSL's footsteps are listed below. Could they be future biotech stars?
Bionomics Ltd (ASX: BNO)
Last year this fledgling biotech company released positive Phase II trial results of its BNC210 anxiety drug. BNC210 not only outperformed the current standard of care, but also exhibited no signs of sedation, memory impairment, addiction, or loss of motor co-ordination. Management has forecast the global therapeutic market for the treatment of anxiety to be worth US$18.2 billion by 2020. If BNC210 can one day become the standard of care for anxiety treatment then Bionomics will profit greatly. But there is still a lot of hard work to come before that is potentially a reality.
Cynata Therapeutics Ltd (ASX: CYP)
Another exciting biotech company I think is worth taking a closer look at is stem cell and regenerative medicine company Cynata. The company's impressive Cymerus technology is able to produce an unlimited number of high quality stem cells at a low cost. These stem cells can then be used to treat numerous diseases including Graft versus Host Disease (GvHD) and cardiovascular disease. Major shareholder FUJIFILM has an exclusive worldwide license to market and sell its therapeutic MSC product CYP-001 for the treatment of GvHD.
Opthea Ltd (ASX: OPT)
Earlier this year Opthea released positive results from the Phase 1/2A clinical trial of its novel therapy OPT-302. The wet age-related macular degeneration therapy showed clinical activity in all patient groups investigated, including naïve and prior-treated patients. Another positive was that the strong result allowed the company to raise $42 million at a significant premium. This puts Opthea in a strong position to expand the clinical development of the potentially lucrative therapy. There is still a long way to go, but Opthea is a company I'll be keeping a close eye on.
