Bayer, Cardiol Therapeutics, Formycon, NanoRepro: Top Biotech Stocks - Delivering!

Bayer - Leaving the past behind

Bayer is back! The Company from Leverkusen seems to be slowly leaving the glyphosate crisis behind - now it is investing again. The Company is not spilling the beans but rather making big investments. With investments of around EUR 2 billion, Bayer wants to make its pharmaceuticals division fit for the future again in the next three years. According to management, the money will be spent on new technologies, automation and digitization. In the process, the strategic focus will be redefined. A significant portion of the funds will be used to expand biotechnology capacities, especially in cell and gene therapies, and expand the production site in Berkeley, California.

Regardless, Germany will remain an important production site. More than EUR 1.4 billion will be invested in technologies, new production facilities and digitization projects at the pharmaceutical sites in Bergkamen, Berlin, Leverkusen, Weimar and Wuppertal. Following the highest loss in its company history in 2020, the agrochemicals and pharmaceuticals group returned to profitability last year, primarily with seeds and medicines. In view of the looming food crisis, Bayer should remain well-positioned. From a chart perspective, the breakout to the upside has begun between EUR 55.5 and EUR 58.5. Get in!

Cardiol Therapeutics - The cardiovascular expert moves forward

Cardiol Therapeutics Inc. (CRDL) is a biotechnology company focused on the discovery and clinical development of innovative anti-inflammatory therapies for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases. The share has been listed in Germany since March 2020 and had an exciting up and down year last year.

CEO David Elsley is taking advantage of the increased attention on his Company to review its significant progress, saying, "In 2021, Cardiol Therapeutics achieved several important goals. We advanced new product development, key basic research initiatives and clinical programs focused on advancing the development of our pharmaceutical-grade cannabidiol formulations for use as an antifibrotic and anti-inflammatory therapy for cardiovascular disease." In total, the Company raised CAD 98 million and also completed a public offering on NASDAQ. Cardiol is now excellently positioned to develop new treatment options to improve patients' health and quality of life with heart disease. This important therapeutic area is currently still underrepresented in the medical world.

In October 2021, Cardiol expanded the Lancer trial, approved initially to enroll patients at hospital centers in the United States under an FDA-approved IND, to include multiple hospital centers in Brazil and Mexico. The next milestone is now the completion of patient enrollment for the Phase II/III Lancer study. It is designed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of CardiolRx as a cardioprotective therapy to reduce severe cardiovascular and respiratory events in patients hospitalized with COVID-19 who have a history or risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Cardiol also believes it is in a good position to help people with acute myocarditis (heart muscle inflammation). Chronic heart failure affects 26 million people in the developed world. It remains a leading cause of death and hospitalization, with associated annual healthcare costs exceeding USD 30 billion in the United States alone.

With the latest capital increase in 2021, Cardiol now has the opportunity to approach this billion-dollar heart disease market with the highest level of expertise. As of December 31, 2021, cash and cash equivalents totaled CAD 83.9 million. With 61.9 million shares, the Company is currently valued at CAD 112 million. The risk-reward ratio currently shows very clear opportunities on the buy-side!

Formycon and NanoRepro - Delivering as promised

We take another brief look at two protagonists from Germany. Here, too, some companies are making good progress with their pharmaceutical products and are repeatedly attracting the attention of investors.

Munich-based biosimilar specialist Formycon is re-sorting itself in the Strüngmann universe. Their investment company Athos KG is currently Formycon's largest single shareholder with around 26.6%. Now it is about the biosimilar projects FYB201 and FYB202 from 2013 and 2017, which were previously developed in a collaboration. By reallocating company shares and integrating the long-standing partner Bioeq GmbH entirely, Formycon strengthens its competencies in several areas that are important for the development, approval and commercialization of biosimilars. At the same time, the attributable share of sales for Formycon increases. The Formycon share was valued at an expert-confirmed fair value of EUR 83.41 in the most recent investment transactions. It should be noted that the third biosimilar project (FYB206), which has not yet been announced, was also included in this valuation. The share rejoiced on this news, gaining 50% in just 3 weeks.

NanoRepro recently reported 2021 numbers, and they were massively impacted by revenue around the COVID pandemic. The Company's revenue climbed from EUR 17 million to EUR 163 million, and operating profit was EUR 38.8 million, up from EUR 2.8 million. From the calculated earnings per share of EUR 2.30, EUR 0.50 is now to be distributed to shareholders. A forecast for 2022 was not provided after the Viromed due diligence was completed. The share price is currently bobbing listlessly back and forth between EUR 4.40 and EUR 5.20. NanoRepro had a strong year. Let's see how the cash is invested and how the pipeline develops.

The biotech investment sector is highly volatile and strongly dependent on investor sentiment. In the current environment, the shares of Formycon and NanoRepro appear to be worth holding. However, more significant share price dynamics are only likely to be triggered by unexpectedly positive news. An investment in Bayer or Cardiol Therapeutics appears to be promising due to the good prospects.