Resilient and growing. Those two descriptions definitely apply to the healthcare sector. People need healthcare products and services regardless of what's happening with the economy. And with elderly populations increasing in many countries (including the U.S.), the demand for healthcare products and services will increase over the next decade and beyond.
These factors present great opportunities for investors. Which healthcare stocks could be the biggest winners? I predict the following three drugmakers could be the best performing healthcare stocks through 2030.
Image source: Getty Images.
1. Vertex Pharmaceuticals
I'll start with the healthcare stock for which I have the greatest confidence -- Vertex Pharmaceuticals(NASDAQ: VRTX). This biotech innovator is already a huge success story thanks to its cystic fibrosis (CF) franchise. But I expect Vertex's growth over the next few years will be driven largely by its products that treat other indications.
Look for Journavx to become a massive blockbuster drug for Vertex. It won U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval earlier this year for treating acute pain. The big plus for Journavx is that it isn't an opioid. With serious concerns about the addictive potential of opioids, I expect rapid sales growth for the new drug.
Vertex appears to be on track to add two other products to its lineup in the not too distant future. The company expects to file for accelerated approval of povetacicept in treating IgA nephropathy in the first half of 2026, pending positive results from a late-stage clinical study. It also hopes to file next year for FDA approval of zimislecel in treating severe type 1 diabetes.
Sure, Vertex faces some challenges. The company's first-quarter results were lower than expected, primarily because of illegal copycat versions of its CF drugs being sold in Russia. Vertex also temporarily paused the multiple ascending dose portion of a phase 1/2 study evaluating VX-522 in treating CF due to a potential tolerability issue. It's also possible that one or more of Vertex's pipeline candidates stumble in clinical testing. Overall, though, I think the prospects for this biotech stock look bright.
2. Iovance Therapeutics
Iovance Therapeutics(NASDAQ: IOVA) currently has one product on the market, Amtagvi, which is approved as a second-line treatment for advanced melanoma. Amtagvi is the first T-cell therapy approved by the FDA for treating a solid tumor.
The company focuses primarily on developing tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) therapies. With these therapies, TILs are isolated from a patient's tumor and then amplified in Iovance's specialized facility. When ready, they're sent back to infuse into the patient's body, where they target and kill cancer cells.
I think there's tremendous potential for Iovance's TIL approach. The drugmaker is already conducting clinical studies evaluating Amtagvi as a treatment for cervical cancer, endometrial cancer, head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, and non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). It's also evaluating the drug in combination with Merck's Keytruda and Bristol Myers Squibb's Opdivo and Yervoy.
Iovance has experienced some hiccups recently. Q1 sales for Amtagvi were lower than expected because of maintenance at the company's cell therapy center. Iovance is learning first-hand about some of the challenges with launching a complex therapy. However, I predict this small company will grow much larger over the next five years.
3. Summit Therapeutics
Unlike Vertex and Iovance, Summit Therapeutics(NASDAQ: SMMT) doesn't have an approved product on the market yet. The operative word in that statement, though, is "yet." I fully expect Summit will have a big winner on its hands in the not too distant future.
Summit licensed commercial rights for the U.S., Canada, Europe, Japan, Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East to promising immunotherapy ivonescimab from Chinese drugmaker Akeso. Ivonescimab has outperformed Merck's Keytruda and BeiGene's Tevimbra in head-to-head matchups in treating NSCLC.
However, those studies were conducted by Akeso outside the United States. The good news is that we shouldn't have to wait long for Summit to report its own clinical results. The company expects to announce top-line results from its Harmoni study evaluating ivonescimab in combination with chemotherapy as a second-line NSCLC treatment in mid-2025.
Summit isn't only targeting NSCLC. It's working with MD Anderson to test ivonescimab in treating cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma and glioblastoma. The company is collaborating with Pfizer to study ivonescimab in combination therapies targeting other solid tumors.
I think ivonescimab will be a huge commercial success within a few years. And I predict Summit Therapeutics will be much larger than its current market cap of around $17 billion.
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Keith Speights has positions in Bristol Myers Squibb, Pfizer, and Vertex Pharmaceuticals. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bristol Myers Squibb, Iovance Biotherapeutics, Merck, Pfizer, Summit Therapeutics, and Vertex Pharmaceuticals. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
