Biotech survivors to buy now

Buying biotech shares has always been a gamble, with companies that promised the world, but never quite delivered. But that doesn't mean investors should just forget about the biotech industry. Richard Hemming investigates, and picks the best bet in the sector.

The biotechnology sector has always been an area that promises the world, but has never quite delivered. Investors first piled into the sector in the 1990s when they saw billions of dollars being made by industry pioneers such as Genentech, Amgen, Biogen and Genzyme. These American firms were among the first to use gene manipulation to create a whole new genre of medicines.

The biotech pioneers proved you could use living cells rather than chemicals to create potentially more effective remedies that target the cause of the disease at the genetic level. It's a shrewd move at a business level too, because generic or cheaply made copycat versions of such treatments are harder to develop.

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