Next-generation healthcare company Prime Medicine (NASDAQ: PRME) was exactly what the doctor ordered for ailing portfolios on the first trading day of the week. On a company update and news of collaboration with a top healthcare business, investors piled into the gene-editing specialist and sent its share price almost 12% higher today. That compared very favorably with the 0.4% gain in the bellwether S&P 500 index.
A new development deal
Arguably the more significant of the two pieces of news was that partnership deal.
Prime Medicine announced that it had signed a strategic research collaboration and license agreement with global pharmaceutical company Bristol Myers Squibb. The partnership will concentrate on the development of reagents (substances added to compounds to produce a chemical reaction) for use in T-cell therapies. Prime Medicine is to use its Prime Editor gene-editing platform to develop these reagents for its partner.
In its press release trumpeting the deal, Prime Medicine quoted CEO Keith Gottesdiener as saying, “Through this effort, we will apply our Prime Editing technology beyond the rare genetic diseases in our internal pipeline, potentially unlocking opportunities in areas of high unmet needs in immunological diseases and cancer.”
A new focus
The other encouraging news was the business update. Prime Medicine pledged to focus its development efforts on a group of high-value programs. Each of these is to target an affliction with, as the company put it, “well-understood biology and a clearly defined clinical development and regulatory path.” The company will also prioritize programs that could potentially expand their scope into other opportunities for business.
Should you invest $1,000 in Prime Medicine right now?
Before you buy stock in Prime Medicine, consider this:
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Prime Medicine wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.
Consider when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005… if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $743,952!*
Stock Advisor provides investors with an easy-to-follow blueprint for success, including guidance on building a portfolio, regular updates from analysts, and two new stock picks each month. The Stock Advisor service has more than quadrupled the return of S&P 500 since 2002*.
*Stock Advisor returns as of September 30, 2024
Eric Volkman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bristol Myers Squibb. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.