The month of March can turn out to be pretty challenging as far as biotech stocks go. Situation can either be pretty smooth for the investors or quite rough. Some experts have given their opinion regarding companies like Intercept Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ICPT), Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) and Neuralstem pharmaceuticals (NYSEMKT:CUR); what their performance is likely to be in this month and what does this imply for the investors.

Brian Orelli:

Orelli claims that Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) is the one resort as far as upcoming catalysts are concerned. This biotech is soon coming up with a new drug to treat cystic fibrosis. There are expectations in the company for the drug’s clinical trial data in this month. Moreover, it is also expected and speculated that the US Food and Drug Administration would reward another drug combination with its approval soon.

Cystic fibrosis is an ailment which comes to the surface as a result of quite a number of mutations. These mutations eventually need to be treated not with a single drug, rather with a lot of drugs. Some drug combinations brought forth by Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) have already been approved such as its Kalydeco which claims to treat patients suffering from G551D. This drug can also take care of other accompanying gating mutation, however the patient needs to be six or older in order to take this drug. Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) is working to get this drug approved from the FDA for patients of two years or younger.

This month, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) will be coming forward with clinical data trial of Kalydeco; a drug manufactured to treat another patients suffering from a different mutation disease called F508del. Kalydeco is being tested in phase 2 with another combination drug called VX-661. This latter drug is a second-generation drug, whilst lumacaftor is its first-generation version. Lumacaftor is already under the process of review by FDA and is hopefully going to get approved. This means that Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) definitely can end up with very potent results and therefore can be a nice option for investors.

Todd Campbell

Todd Campbell claims that Neuralstem Pharmaceuticals (NYSEMKT:CUR) can make a real difference to the world of therapeutics. Currently Neuralstem Pharmaceuticals (NYSEMKT:CUR) is undergoing a research on stem cell treatment to cure ALS. The other name for ALS is Lou Gehrig’s disease. This neural disease can turn out to be really dire, but currently FDA has not approved any treatments to cure this very disease. Neuralstem Pharmaceuticals (NYSEMKT:CUR) is working to alter this situation.

Dan Caplinger:

Dan Caplinger has given his verdict in the favor of Intercept Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ICPT). He says that Intercept Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ICPT) stands out in the array of biotech owing to its obeticholic acid treatment which has been manufactured to cure liver diseases. Early and mid-stage clinical trials have yielded positive results so far and as a corollary investors have been pretty excited about the stock. Results suggest that the drug can be a possible treatment to take care of NASH (primary biliary cirrhosis and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis). One major reason why Intercept Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ICPT) has carved out its distinct spot in biotech arena is that recently the company has been rewarded with a breakthrough therapy status from the US Food and Drug Administration.  This was owing to the company’s recent obeticholic acid treatment which can supposedly treat all the indications of NASH.

Thus, for Caplinger, Intercept Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ICPT) has a lot of potential and a lot of positive promise.

Both Neupogen and Zarxio contain essentially the same active compound in them. Various tests and clinical trials were conducted by the US Food and Drug Administration on the said drug in order to establish its efficacy. In all of these test trials, no significant changes were observed as such.

Up till now, there is no established system to give names to biosimilars, since Zarxio is the very first such drug to get approved by the FDA. However, until an appropriate naming develops, this biosimilar drug is probably going to be known as filgrastim-sndz.

The application for the approval of Zarxio was brought forth into the notice of FDA in the year 2014 and in the month of July. On 7^th of January, 2015, the advisory committee of US Food and Drug Administration recommended this drug to get approved by the authority. This recommendation for approval was enough to make Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) stop dead in its tracks; since up till then its drug Neupogen had been enjoying the star-light. Amgen Inc.’s (NASDAQ:AMGN) block-buster oncology drug alone contributed into the gross revenue of the company by generating an income of $1.2 billion in the year 2014.

It is suspected that Zarxio would take away this popularity enjoyed by Neupogen, since both essentially contain the same active compound; whilst the former is also cheaper in price as compared to the latter.

In order to ensure that Neupogen continues in its successful venture, Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) filed a suit against Zarxio, in order to put a stop to its commercialization in the US market. Not only did Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) file a suit against the drug, rather Novartis AG (ADR) (NYSE:NVS) division, Sandoz, which came up with the drug was also sued. Court would attend to this hearing on thirteenth of March and most likely would come up with its final decision by the tenth of April.

In accordance with the Court’s decision, Novartis AG (ADR) (NYSE:NVS) has made a public announcement, stating that it wouldn’t launch Zarxio in the markets, even though it has been approved by the FDA, until the court gives its final decision on the tenth of April.

Zarxio was only approved once the FDA had carried out a thorough and extensive evaluation of the biosimilar drug. These drugs are basically cheaper imitation versions of biologic drugs which are obtained from living substances, and thus tend to be expensive. Yet, it is possible to manufacture other drugs that have a similar effect as that of the biologic drug. These imitation versions are called as biosimilar drugs. These drugs might resemble their biologic counter parts as far as the drug’s effect is concerned; yet, since these are not the completely accurate and hundred percent true copies, therefore their evaluation has to be done on an extensive scale, before they can ultimately be approved.

This generic drug of Sovaldi, developed by Incepta Pharmaceuticals Ltd. goes by the name of Hopetavir and will be sold at $900 for a period of 12 weeks. On the other hand, Gilead Sciences Inc.’s (NASDAQ:GILD) Sovaldi tended to be very expensive. Up till now, it was the most effective drug for hepatitis C treatment and was being sold at $86,000 for a period of twelve weeks. Owing to this reason, Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) had to face a lot of criticism, regarding the overpricing of its drugs. Another drug manufactured by Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) of the like kind, Harvoni, comes with an even higher price tag of $94,500 for 12 weeks.

The hefty prices of these drugs makes them unaffordable. Quite a large of number of people are suffering from Hepatitis C, particularly in developing countries, and such expensive treatments are out of question for them. Therefore, there was a dire need for a generic version of this drug; so that people who cannot afford such highly priced drugs can still have access to hepatitis treatment.

Since Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) has been coming across a lot of criticism regarding the high rates of its drugs, therefore recently it has been striving to make its drugs a little reasonable, so that they can be afforded in the less economically privileged countries

In accordance with these efforts, Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) has been making quite a number of deals with drug manufacturing companies in India, allowing these companies to come up with cheaper and generic versions of Sovaldi. These low-cost HCV drugs are being manufactured for 91 developing and under developed countries of the world.

Statistics suggest that approximately 150 million people in the world are suffering from Hepatitis C. From this 150 million, a large proportion of affected people belong to either developing or under developed countries. Of the total population that makes up the hepatitis patients, more than half i.e. approximately 73% of the patients come from low-income countries. This data has been brought forward by Doctors without Borders.

A recent deal was finalized between Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) and Natco Pharma Ltd. (BOM:524816) for the production of generic versions of Sovaldi in Nepal. In context of this deal, a statement was made by Hitesh Mahida, who happens to work as an analyst at Antique Stock Broking. Mahida said that even though the competition between the manufacturing of these generic drugs is going to be intense; however the market is very wide to welcome all these versions.

Although, Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) has been giving licenses to many pharmaceutical companies for the production of generic versions of its block buster HCV drug, Sovaldi; yet, Incepta Pharmaceuticals Ltd. did not seek any such license from Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD). A major reason for this is that the latter company belongs to Bangladesh, and Bangladesh is alleviated from all patent protection rules, being a very non-developed country, according to the WTO treaty.

This huge sale carried out by Actavis Plc (NYSE:ACT) has contributed in further enhancing the debt incurred by investment-grade companies. Dealogic has compiled a report in this regard, which states that huge sales of bonds have been carried out and this trend hasn’t been observed in the market since the year 2009. Furthermore, the figure of the bond sales, as set forth by the company, stood at $203 billion.

Actavis Plc (NYSE:ACT) has also mapped out its future plans and hopes to utilize the income of these bond sales to financially back up its acquisition project of Allergan Inc. (NYSE:AGN). This project needs a total funding of $66 billion. The Chief Executive Officer and President of Actavis Plc (NYSE:ACT), Brent Saunders, explains the reasons in work behind this acquisition project. He stated that the aim of this acquisition plan is to end up with a pharmaceutical company which is renowned for its dynamic nature, innovative technology and rapid progress, across the globe. Moreover, Actavis Plc (NYSE:ACT) shall be then ranked amongst the world’s top 10 health care and pharmaceutical companies.

The company experienced an intensely high demand for its bonds which is reflected in its $21 billion bond sale. Investors placed orders of almost $90 billion, which made their way into Actavis Plc’s (NYSE:ACT) revenue. As a consequence of this high demand, bond-selling banks were compelled to lower yields. Trading session took place on Tuesday and the mighty presence of this strong demand were also felt there, since the stock prices escalated.

US treasury bonds’ low yields was the pivotal factor in play which led to the ultimate escalation of this demand. European investors and other investors present overseas showed a particular interest and were the major partakers of this strong demand. This is probably because of the economic downfall as well as the yields of European Treasury bonds which are going downhill. European Central Bank, in this regard, has initiated a stimulation program. The major aim of this program is to further lower the yields on these bonds.

This $21 billion bond-deal finalized by Actavis Plc (NYSE:ACT) has proved to be extremely profitable for the company and bestowed it with a higher ranking, in contrast to Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT). Microsoft Corporation’s (NASDAQ:MSFT) bond deal amounted to almost $10.75 billion; and before Tuesday’s record-breaking deal, this was considered to be the largest bond deal of investment-grade. Actavis Plc (NYSE:ACT) not only outstepped Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), rather the bond sale by Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) was also left behind; since in comparison with Actavis Plc’s (NYSE:ACT) $21 billion bond deal, its $7 billion did not amount to much.

The announcement made by NutriSystem (NASDAQ:NTRI), based in Pennsylvania,  also delineated its generated income of the latest quarter which was $79.23 million to be precise. This revenue showed a definite progress from the company’s earnings of last year.

Owing to these statistics, EPS was determined to be of 18 cents, which again exceeded the analysts’ expectations of 16 cents and reflects a dramatic growth, from last year’s EPS of merely 4 cents.

Moreover, the glad tidings do not merely end here. A report was presented by NutriSystem (NASDAQ:NTRI) that predicted a continual growth in the company’s revenue, amounting to almost 13%, in the entire year of 2014. This claim of the company is in contrast to its conventional multi-year trend. This contrast and turning around from its previously established trend can be considered as a corollary of the four-point plan which made its way through, in the start of the year 2013. The program did turn out to be pretty effective, since its results made their way home, and did so within no time at all. The company’s financial report of the last quarters of 2013 support this statement, since an increase of 8% in the company’s YOY was observed. Moreover, the company kept up with its expansion and innovation; and reaped profits from e-commerce as well. It turns out that NutriSystem’s (NASDAQ:NTRI) investment in this arena did pay off. The company’s latest report predicting a growth for the entire year of 2014 reiterates this point, since for the last six years, the company’s gross income has been going downhill.

NutriSystem’s (NASDAQ:NTRI) EPS for the year 2014 also saw a growth of approximately 69%. After 2008, 2014 is the only year where an increase in the company’s YOY has been observed. Previously, the company had witnessed its revenue coming down to 46% in fiscal year 2012. However, the new strategy which was initiated in the beginning of 2013 turned out to be fruitful for the company and it enabled NutriSystem’s (NASDAQ:NTRI) revenue to increase from 46% to 50% in the fiscal year 2013.

NutriSystem (NASDAQ:NTRI) has kept on with its provision of new and innovative products to its customers. Keeping in accordance with this trend, it has launched a new application known as NuMi app. There is a strong speculation that the company would reap immense profits from this app, leading to a gradual increase in both its profits and earnings. Moreover, NutriSystem (NASDAQ:NTRI) occupies the summit position in the list of those companies which launched wearable devices to control weight. This fact has also led to the stimulation of its revenue.

The previous year has ended up being pretty profitable for the company, since its stock saw a gradual increase of about 16%. Yet, the bad news accompanying this good one was that the stock price is going downhill. Over all, as far as the analysts’ estimates are concerned, NutriSystem (NASDAQ:NTRI) has been receiving a favorable ranking, as 5 out of total 6 analysts gave it a Buy rating.

Cardinal Health Inc. (NYSE:CAH) has made use of a chance in time and has taken a step to win the world wide creators of endovascular and cardiology tools for instance catheters, stents, and many other surgical devices. This was done so that the company, dealing with cardiac related devices, can have a strong position in market. Abbott Laboratories, Boston Scientific Corporation and Medtronic PLC being the greatest competitors are the major targets of Cardinal Health Inc. (NYSE:CAH).

Due to the planned agreement, the Ohio based company would get a better platform to bargain against the hospitals and medical centers that have arranged great discounts by ceasing arguments made by companies with one another and the insurers. Through this, Cardinal Health Inc. (NYSE:CAH) would show prominent increments in its sales at a high rate.

The medical segment head of Cardinal Health Inc. (NYSE:CAH) attended a press release the day before, and reported that the increase of these schemes will push them to become a necessity for hospitals.

Sales of almost $780 million for 12 months of the past year were produced by Cordis in the capital of Ohio. The earned amount was distributed between endovascular and cardiology products. More than 70% of sales around the world have been gathered by the unit from above 50 countries incorporating Brazil, UK, Italy, China, Germany, Japan and France. Cardinal Health Inc. (NYSE:CAH) is well-established and capable of development movements for Cordis. According to the survey, the company had more than $90 billion sales for the full fiscal year 2014.

On the plan of the procurement of Cordis, the Chairman and CEO of Cardinal Health Inc. (NYSE:CAH), George Barrett, gave his point of view yesterday that they were truly thrilled about the plan of acquiring Cordis. He further stated that Cordis will prove to be an outstanding step forward in the cardiovascular scheme as it has a high heritage in the revolution of cardiovascular field. It is going to prove to be a conspicuous agreement deal and they hope to cope with the master plan in health care systems by alteration of doctor’s preference devices and other items.

Cardinal Health Inc. (NYSE:CAH) has made a judgment about its future that would increase the earnings of $0.2 per share with the consequence of notable synergies of above $100 million for every year from late fiscal year 2018.

Johnson & Johnson’s (NYSE:JNJ) is looking into the growth of its high-selling business with narrowing its portfolio, so the acquisition would benefit Johnson & Johnson’s (NYSE:JNJ) as well. The plan of Cardinal Health Inc. (NYSE:CAH) to get the aimed $1 billion price-decrease each year lies parallel to Cordis.