Gene Therapy Stocks Continue To Underperform. Are They Worth A Look?

September 29th, 2020 by Trefis Team
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Gene therapy – which aims to treat diseases by essentially inserting a gene into a patient’s cells rather than via drugs or surgery – was a hot trend in the biotech space, but investor interest in the sector appears to have died down considerably, on account of high R&D spending and delays companies have seen in launching revenue-generating products. Our indicative theme of Gene-Based Therapy Stocks is down by about -23% year-to-date, underperforming the S&P 500 which is up by about 2%. However, with valuations declining, these companies could be attractive bets for investors as years of investments potentially start to pay off. These companies could also be acquisition candidates for big pharma. Below is a bit more about these companies and how they have fared this year.

Sarepta Therapeutics (SRPT) is a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company that develops RNA-targeted therapeutics and gene therapy products. The company recently provided some positive data on its investigational gene therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The stock is up 11% year-to-date (YTD).

SRPT

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Voyager Therapeutics (VYGR) is a clinical-stage biotech company that is developing gene therapies for Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease, and other conditions. The stock is down by about -20% year-to-date.

REGENXBIO Inc. (RGNX): is a clinical-stage biotechnology company working on gene-based therapies for  Retinal diseases, Hunter and Hurler syndromes. The stock is down by about -33% this year.

uniQure(QURE) is primarily focused on gene-based therapy for Hemophilia and is currently in the late-stage of clinical trials and another program focuses on Huntington’s disease. The stock is down by about -49% year-to-date.

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