As investors, we are all looking to get in on the ground floor of a fantastic stock both for returns and maybe, gloating rights to our friends. Some of the best performing stocks are in the healthcare and biotechnology sectors with industry stocks making up 7% of ASX200 companies. 

With many target diseases and conditions, choosing a winning healthcare stock takes some scientific sifting. How can you as an investor be sure that you are onto something with sound scientific backing and a clear path forward? 

A science degree helps…

As a scientist, you may have noticed that my investment interests are largely around healthcare and biotech stocks. Cancer research specifically is a huge focus of many companies on the ASX, and for good reason. As the second leading cause of death globally, cancer touches everyone at some point in their lives.

Something I constantly see being spread on investor forums and groups is the notion that cancer is already cured, followed by some conspiracy theory that the government makes billions off of sick cancer patients every year and aren’t willing to share the magic cure. 

Many an eye roll has spurred this article. So I’m putting my scientist hat (or maybe my lab coat) on to explain why you shouldn’t listen to Derek on HotCopper. 

Cancer is not a single disease 

‘Cancer’ is an umbrella term for hundreds of diseases, characterised by unchecked, uncontrolled cell proliferation. There are many different types of cancers that can affect any physiological system, with sarcomas, carcinomas, leukemias, lymphomas and central nervous system cancers.  The breadth of ‘cancer’ is what makes curing the damn thing so hard. Whilst prostate and breast cancers often respond to the same treatment, lung cancer needs a totally different approach. 

Cancer is personal
Ok, so if cancer is a collective word for many diseases why does treatment for one person’s cancer not work for another? 

Simply put- cancer is personal. Arising from environmental, genetic or lifestyle factors, each cancer in each person is unique, making it a different disease every time. In fact, each cancer has at least 5 to 6 genetic mutations in either oncogenes (pro cancer genes), or tumor suppressor genes. 

If every tumour worked the same we’d have a silver bullet by now but with so many possible combinations, finding a cure isn’t as easy as it may seem. 

Cancer is expensive

Many of Derek’s theories almost always include some sort of statement about why the government doesn’t want to cure cancer because of some conspiracy with big pharma companies. If you do more than 5 minutes of research into the cost of cancer it becomes abundantly clear that governments should be (and are) highly motivated to find a cure to free up capital for other ventures. 

Over $2 billion is spent every year on subsidies for cancer medications on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. Ribociclib, a drug for breast cancer costs a whopping $72,000 without subsidy from the government. With that subsidy? You can get it for just $6.40… the price of a large coffee. 

On average, Medicare covers 63% of the total costs of cancer care. This can be as high as 89% of costs for lung cancer care.  To give you an idea of the costs of treatment for cancer in this country, even with all of our brilliant treatment subsidies: a 2018 study found that, weighted to the distribution of cancer types in Australia, the mean cost was $1,622 per case for the year prior to diagnosis, $33,944 for the first year after diagnosis and $8,796 for the second year after diagnosis. 

Whilst we are taking a moment to appreciate universal healthcare available in this country, let’s not forget that these costs are largely borne by the taxpayer. So Derek spouting conspiracy theories would technically be set to benefit if cures were found. 

So whilst numerous stakeholders are motivated to find a cure, there isn’t just ONE.

Your next question might be- what about chemo?

Chemotherapy was developed at the beginning of the 20th century and has become the mainstay of cancer treatment. Whilst sometimes effective, chemotherapy drugs are far from a walk in the park. The cocktail of drugs attack rapidly dividing cells in the body and hope the cancer is obliterated. The goal is to mangle the cancer’s DNA to ensure that the bad cells can no longer divide and make copies. In the process, chemo also kills hair cells and the lining of the gut, leading to many of the side effects we hear about.

Scientists are always looking for better ways to treat cancer. Instead of throwing a grenade and hoping it manages to kill your enemies, medicine is now taking more of a sniper approach. This is in the form of more personalised medicine like genome sequencing to isolate the relevant mutations and target accordingly. Another rapidly developing facet of treatment are novel cancer therapeutics. These include immunotherapy, targeted therapy and precision medicine to limit collateral damage of normal tissue and maximise tumour destruction. 

This refined, novel approach to oncology is essentially scientific thinking, outside the box, and is rapidly developing as a cornerstone of modern cancer medicine. 

So, before you write off those biotechs in favour of yet another BNPL stock, consider investing in a company working towards bringing better cancer cures to the table, to make a real difference in peoples’ lives.

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Samantha Freidin holds a Bachelor of Science from Monash University.