Galena Biopharma Inc (GALE), BIOLASE Inc (BIOL), Achillion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (ACHN): Three Biotech Giants to Look For

BIOLASE Inc (NASDAQ:BIOL) might have a proven product and strong growth, but if investors are looking for more potential for a bigger payoff then Achillion might be the right one. This giant is attempting to tackle patients infected with Hepatitis C (HCV), with or without risk factors such as Cirrhosis, and even the HIV virus. The potential marketplace for treating patients infected with HCV and HIV is about $30 billion alone. There are only a few competitors, Gilead Sciences with Sofosbuvir (phase III) being the most prominent, and all of these are major companies.

Achillion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACHN) did burn through just under $48 million in cash last year, and should be able to easily follow through with its trials and have money for marketing too.The company has no debt. Almost 90% of Achillion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACHN) stock is currently held by institutions, which is also not a bad thing to add. There might be lots of risk, but this stock could do well if FDA approval is secured for its lead HCV drug candidate, Sovaprevir.

Achillion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACHN) has three primary clinical trials going on with Sovaprevir, a NS3 protease inhibitor in phase IIa clinical trials for Hepatitis C (HCV), being its lead candidate. Another phase IIa trial is going on for drug candidate ACH-3102, a NS5A inhibitor, for combining with ribavirin for suppressing the HCV GT1b virus. Another candidate, ACH-2684, a protease NS3 protease inhibitor is in phase I trials. Achillion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACHN) also has a pipeline of antibacterial product candidates with ACH-702 leading the pack for the treatment of dermatologies and ophthalmic infections, and ACH-2881 for the treatment of more serious resistant bacterial infections.

To end up with

Risk aggression is desired whenever the question of investment in biotech stocks arises, but that risk might be mitigated with BIOLASE Inc (NASDAQ:BIOL). Galena Biopharma Inc (NASDAQ:GALE) and Achillion might have high risk, however, the financial windfall that an FDA approval would bring to either is hard to downplay. Biolase has technology for the future and Galena Biopharma Inc (NASDAQ:GALE) and Achillion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACHN) are ready to make the future better for many inflicted people.

BIOLASE Inc (NASDAQ:BIOL) is finally on track to generate positive cash flow from its core business products, and should be able to broadly expand the application of its proprietary laser systems for use in ophthalmology. Indeed, the future looks bright for the Waterlase system, and its developer Biolase. So, I am pretty bullish that this company is not going to disappoint its valued investors in the near future.

The article Three Biotech Giants to Look For originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Abir Karmakar.

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