Why Plasma Stocks Are on Investors’ Radar

Plasma stocks popped up after the FDA cleared hospitals to use plasma-derived therapy to treat COVID-19 patients.

Ruchi Gupta - Author
By

Sep. 15 2020, Updated 8:51 a.m. ET

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Plasma stocks have been on investors’ radar during the COVID-19 pandemic. Plasma stocks are similar to COVID-19 epicenter stocks. In August, the FDA allowed hospitals to treat COVID-19 patients with blood plasma from people who have recovered from the disease. The FDA approval sparked a rally in plasma stocks. 

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Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, plasma was used as a medical treatment for patients with certain diseases. Plasma is the liquid component of blood where blood cells float. When a person gets sick, their body’s immune system responds by producing antibodies to fight the disease. The antibodies float in the blood plasma.

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Antibody-containing blood plasma can be collected and injected into the body of a patient suffering from a disease. The antibodies successfully fought the disease in another patient. The transfused antibodies can start fighting the disease until the patient’s immune system can produce antibodies to join the fight.

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Convalescent plasma involves giving a transfusion of blood plasma to transfer antibodies to fight the disease. Some studies have shown that convalescent plasma can treat COVID-19 patients. For example, a Mayo Clinic study showed that giving convalescent plasma to severely ill COVID-19 patients can reduce mortality. The FDA approved plasma-derived therapy as an emergency treatment to save the lives of COVID-19 patients. 

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Are plasma stocks a good investment?

To facilitate plasma-derived therapy, there are companies that collect and purify convalescent plasma before it's transfused into patients who need it. The FDA's approval should boost plasma companies' sales, which should have a positive impact on plasma stocks. The Trump administration supports the FDA's efforts to treat COVID-19 patients with plasma.

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"This is a powerful therapy that transfuses very, very strong antibodies from the blood of recovered patients to help treat patients battling a current infection. It's had an incredible rate of success," said President Trump.

Which plasma companies are publicly traded?

Investors seeking plasma stocks could benefit from the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. There are a series of publicly traded plasma product companies involved in collecting convalescent plasma and transforming it into COVID-19 treatments.

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ADMA Biologics runs plasma collection facilities. The company generates most of its revenue from selling plasma-based products. ADMA Biologics' clients include drug researchers and manufacturers involved in developing plasma-based COVID-19 treatments. 

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T2 Biosystems has built a technology used for diagnostic testing. The company's products help detect pathogens in the blood, which can be used to test COVID-19 convalescent plasma for safety.

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Cerus Corporation is a blood product supplier with a global footprint. The company collects blood plasma that can be transformed into various medically useful products including therapies for rare diseases. Cerus Corporation's work includes combating the COVID-19 pandemic with convalescent plasma.

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Liminal BioSciences is one of the biotech companies involved in developing plasma-derived therapies. The company is part of the alliance that seeks to combine efforts to develop a plasma-based treatment for COVID-19 patients.

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Grifols is a Spanish blood products company that operates plasma collection facilities around the world. Grifols is one of the plasma companies trying to fight the COVID-19 pandemic with plasma-derived therapies.

Kamada is a biopharmaceutical company that develops and markets plasma therapies. Currently, the company is working on a plasma-based treatment for COVID-19 patients. 

Other publicly-traded plasma companies include Thermogenesis Holdings, CSL Behring, and Takeda Pharmaceutical. Thermogenesis Holdings has a joint venture with ImmuneCyte. The company is involved in producing COVID-19 plasma-derived therapies. 

In addition to COVID-19 patients, the world’s aging population may also need more plasma-derived therapy. The increased need for plasma therapy could provide a long tailwind for plasma stocks.

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