Cracking the Code: Understand and Profit from the Biotech Revolution That Will Transform Our Lives and Generate Fortunes

WAKE UP TO THE MOST IMPORTANT TREND IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD

There is a new gold rush on. The Single biggest trend to affect mankind is here, and there are fortunes to be made.

The next phase in the world s development will not be dominated by the rise of China or India, or by green technologies, important though they are. Rather the world as we know it is about to be transformed by breakthrough achievements in human life extension and improvement. Entire industries are soon to be disrupted by developments in Biotechnology. And there are unparalleled opportunities for early investors to profit.

This amazing acceleration in technological development is coming under the radar for many, but will soon prove to be more important to the human race than the internet, iPads, smartphones and all the other material goods we regard as technology. The fusion of technology and medicine will enable us to live longer and healthier lives with a considerably superior quality of life.

LEARN, DIGEST, INFORM AND INVEST

Cracking the Code is the first book to explore with full clarity the implications of an industry that will define the 21st century and to outline the huge returns to be had for those who invest in the companies behind these products and the changing demographic that his technology will bring about.

Leading investment experts Jim Mellon and Al Chalabi have spent a year immersed in the life sciences industry, researching and interviewing over 100 companies. Writing not as scientists but as investors, they strip away the technical jargon and demystify the information to help you to understand the science and clearly identify the key industry participants and investment opportunities.

The first authors to forecast an economic crisis, as early as 2005 in their book Wake Up!, show you how the biotech industry s biggest successes will dwarf the current colossi of the stock markets. May you live long and prosper from it.

Acknowledgements ix

Introduction xi

Chapter One Transformational Technologies 1

Futurists and Scientists Look into the Future 1

The Convergence of Technology and Biology 13

Chapter Two The Evolution of Medicine and the Emergence of Biopharma 23

From Atoms to Cells to Living Organisms 24

The History of the Pharmaceutical Industry 36

Chapter Three The Drug Industry Reinventing the Model 55

Big Pharma, Biopharma 59

Drug Patents 73

The Path to Riches: FDA Approval 79

In Summary 84

Chapter Four Curing Disease Promising Prospects in the Main Therapeutic Areas 87

Cancer Step by Step, Being Beaten 89

Infectious Diseases: New Antibiotics, Hepatitis and HIV Drugs Make for a Fast–growing Sector 107

Obesity and its Evil Sisters: Type 2 Diabetes and Kidney Disease 118

The Heart of the Matter Biggest Killer on the Prowl 128

Fading into the Night Neurodegeneration, Rheumatology and Multiple Sclerosis 132

Respiratory Disease New Drugs: A Breath of Fresh Air 143

Rare Diseases and Rare Profits 146

Drugs for Pain and for the Central Nervous System 150

The Best of the Rest Ophthalmology, Dermatology, Gastrointestinal and Bone Disease 153

Chapter Five Turning Back the Clock Stem Cells, Genomics, Gene Therapy and Regeneration 157

Stem Cells 166

Gene Therapy and Nano Medicine 170

Organ Growth in and out of the Body 178

Chapter Six Demographic Changes 181

The Working Age Labour Pool in the World is Shrinking 191

Can Immigration Solve the Labour Shortage in the Developed World? 193

The Social Impact of an Ageing Population 195

The United States is the Best Positioned Developed Country 196

Support Ratios Have Been Plummeting 197

China s Grey Future 198

What Can Governments Do To Avoid Their Country Becoming a Nursing Home? 200

Chapter Seven Bioscience s Disruptive Influences 205

Insurance and Healthcare 206

Real Estate 210

Politics 211

Geopolitics 211

Retail Goods and Services 212

The Food Industry 213

The Investment Industry 214

The Law 215

Shortage of Young People in Developed Nations 217

Chapter Eight Robotics and Nanotechnology 219

Robotics 219

Surgical Procedures/Surgical Assistance 220

Medical Monitor/Nurse 223

Housemaid/Domestic Assistance 228

Companion/Pet 229

Nanotechnology 232

Chapter Nine Lifestyle Maintenance 235

It s a Fact: Obesity Shortens Your Life 235

Extending Life Expectancy 237

Common Traits of People who Live the Longest 239

A Cure to Ageing 240

Telomeres Our Biological Clock 244

Chapter Ten Investment in Biopharma Chasing Those Money Fountains 247

Conservative Portfolio 279

Balanced Portfolio 280

Speculative Portfolio 281

Company Overviews 282

Summary 305

Glossary 315

Appendix Key Financial Charts of Big Pharma 325

References 327

Bibliography 329

Index 331