Innovation Is Still Improving Lives
Doc's note: The world isn't as doom and gloom as headlines make it out to be. And today, Marc Chaikin shares a story that shows how life – especially when it comes to our health – is continually improving...
Abby Schwartz still remembers how the doctor tried to comfort her...
He had just told her that her 21-month-old daughter, Sammie, had cystic fibrosis ("CF"). It's a crippling condition caused by a rare genetic mutation.
The doctor tried to soften the blow. As he said...
The good news is the life expectancy for someone with CF is almost 31 years.
Schwartz and her husband sat quietly. She was 31 at the time.
It's a nightmare scenario for every parent. And the heartbreak must have been excruciating.
CF is an awful condition to deal with. It causes thick mucus to build up in organs – including the lungs, pancreas, and intestines.
Patients typically have difficulty breathing. And they get frequent infections like pneumonia and bronchitis.
Schwartz spent years teaching her daughter to follow a strict regimen of more than a dozen different drugs.
For example, CF interferes with the body's ability to get nutrients from food. So Sammie had to take special capsules full of pancreatic enzymes before every meal.
Twice a day, Sammie needed to use a nebulizer device to thin the mucus in her lungs. She also wore a special vibrating vest to loosen the mucus. Schwartz would help by pounding on her daughter's back while she watched her favorite TV shows.
It was an exhausting routine for Schwartz...
Managing CF Treatments Took a Big Emotional Toll
She handled daily checklists of filling prescriptions and scheduling treatments – including blood tests, chest X-rays, and "sputum cultures" to check for lung infections.
Early on, she joined a network of parents who also had children with CF. It was great for learning how to manage her daughter's disease. But it also came with a downside...
Someone in the group would eventually lose their child.
Sometimes, they were well into adulthood. Other times, they were much younger.
It's upsetting to think about.
Schwartz would go to the funeral and be supportive. She wrote about how it felt sitting beside two other mothers of children with CF...
We were the lucky ones whose daughters were still alive. Silent, we stared ahead, clutching one another's hands. I envisioned the three of us on a rowboat, in the middle of a storm-tossed ocean, sharks circling – waiting to tear us apart.
Meanwhile, Schwartz tried to avoid thinking about how long her daughter would survive with CF.
Sammie had a close call after her junior year of high school. She developed a bad lung infection. It required a long hospital stay, antibiotics, and a special airway-clearance therapy.
Schwartz noticed that her daughter's lung function never fully recovered after that infection. It's an example of why CF is a "degenerative" disease – it slowly damages the lungs and other organs.
In 2018, Sammie was accepted into a clinical trial for a promising new CF drug...
A Breakthrough in Treatment
Early results showed that it worked for most CF patients. That made it a major improvement over earlier treatments.
Sammie took the drug for a few weeks. But she didn't notice any difference.
However, only half of the patients in clinical trials get the drug. The other half gets a placebo that does nothing. That's how researchers test how well a drug works. They measure the difference between the two groups.
When the trials moved to the next stage, Sammie received the "real" drug.
The effects were almost immediate. She started coughing up mucus – a sign her lungs were clearing.
The worst symptoms improved dramatically over the next few weeks...
Sammie could breathe easily. Her chronic cough – which she had had since middle school – disappeared completely. And she was able to stop taking insulin.
The drug is called Trikafta.
For CF patients, it's a literal lifesaver. And it's also a huge deal for Schwartz. As she said in the Washington Post...
I was an emotional mess the week Trikafta was approved. It felt like I'd been holding my breath for 20 years and could finally exhale.
Today, Sammie – and thousands of other CF patients – can look forward to living longer, more comfortable lives thanks to Trikafta.
It's also a game changer for parents. In the Washington Post, Schwartz explained how her relationship with her daughter has changed...
She no longer needs me to be her caretaker. I can just be her mom.
Trikafta is one of the biggest success stories in modern medicine. It's another example of humanity's incredible progress. And it shows the power of biotech to change lives.
Folks, sometimes it seems like negative news has taken over the world. Every time we turn on the TV, we see something terrible.
The reality is that humanity is still making progress.
Innovation is still improving lives. And it's still creating investment opportunities.
Sure, the biotech sector comes with plenty of risk. But the potential to change lives – and for big investment gains – is massive.
In fact, the Power Gauge currently says the biotech industry is strong...
Out of 542 stocks in the industry with ratings, 152 are "bullish" or better. And 66 are rated "bearish" or worse. So it's worth paying attention to biotech right now.
Good investing,
Marc Chaikin
Editor's note: As the mainstream media warns of a historic bubble in stocks, people want to know how to best navigate today's uncertain market. So tomorrow, Marc is hosting his first-ever "Ask Me Anything" to help provide answers to pressing market questions. Click here to ask your question and reserve your spot.