Get healthy returns from these three innovative healthcare stocks
Professional investor Michael Li of the American Century Advanced Medical Impact Fund looks at three healthcare stocks

Healthcare is an exciting sector. The incredibly rapid development of effective coronavirus vaccines is just one example of its tremendous potential for innovation and making a positive social impact. We also feel there is scope for healthy returns. Healthcare companies are innovating not just in therapeutics and medical devices, but also in terms of big data and analytics. As a result, we believe we are on the verge of a transformation in how care is delivered and diseases are treated.
Speeding up drug trials
Veeva Systems (NYSE: VEEV) is a cloud-software company whose technology helps plan drug trials safely and effectively. The process of developing a new drug takes over a decade and costs millions of dollars. This use of data analytics and information technology helps reduce approval times and costs, and raises the probability of success.
The company serves over 750 customers, including 20 of the largest pharmaceutical companies. Its technology typically accelerates regulatory submissions by 20%, which is crucial for patients likely to benefit from innovative treatments. Veeva’s platform also accelerates drug development by reducing the start-up time in clinical studies by 40%.
Subscribe to MoneyWeek
Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE

Sign up to Money Morning
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
A cocktail to combat Covid-19
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: REGN) is a biotechnology company engaged in the development of medicines for the treatment of serious diseases. It is pouring resources into research and development (R&D) and it maintains one of the world’s most comprehensive genetic databases, with a million people sequenced by the Regeneron Genetics Center. Regeneron is well known today for its Covid-19 antiviral drug cocktail, which has so far proved effective against the various strains of the disease, and is gaining market share from competing therapies. But Regeneron’s research effort goes far beyond Covid-19.
The company has developed and markets drugs addressing several serious medical conditions, including a type of inoperable skin cancer, wet age-related macular degeneration, asthma and eczema among others. Regeneron has approximately 30 potential treatments in clinical development.
Transforming diabetes care
DexCom (Nasdaq: DXCM) is an innovative medical-device company transforming the quality of life and standard of care for diabetics. The company produces a continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) system, which allows patients and care providers to evaluate and adjust care quickly and effectively in real time.
A sensor is placed under the patient’s skin and attached to a tiny transmitter that continuously relays data on blood-sugar levels. The data can be read on a dedicated receiver, displayed on an iPhone, or monitored remotely by a care provider. This technology is transformative: traditional glucose monitoring depends on intermittent, inconvenient and painful finger pricks and self-monitoring.
Not only is DexCom attractive for its positive impact on the lives of diabetics, but the company is also gaining market share, broadening the range of potential applications for its products and expanding geographically.
Get the latest financial news, insights and expert analysis from our award-winning MoneyWeek team, to help you understand what really matters when it comes to your finances.
-
What is crypto?
You may well have heard of cryptocurrencies, but it’s important to understand how these risky assets work before diving in
-
Ofgem energy price cap to rise by 2% from October
Gas and electricity bills are set to increase in the final quarter of 2025 for millions of people on the energy price cap
-
'The rise and fall of Kodak is a lesson for the tech giants'
Opinion The long decline of Kodak – a once-dominant company – shows why no business is safe from disruption, says Matthew Lynn
-
8 of the best properties for sale with kitchen gardens
The best properties for sale with kitchen gardens – from a 17th-century timber-framed hall house in Norfolk, to an Arts & Crafts house in West Sussex designed by Charles Voysey with a garden by Gertrude Jekyll
-
Why investors can no longer trust traditional statistical indicators
Opinion The statistical indicators and data investors have relied on for decades are no longer fit for purpose. It's time to move on, says Helen Thomas
-
Investors rediscover the virtue of value investing over growth
Growth investing, betting on rapidly expanding companies, has proved successful since 2008. But now the other main investment style seems to be coming back into fashion.
-
8 of the best properties for sale with shooting estates
The best properties for sale with shooting estates – from an estate in a designated Dark Sky area in Ayrshire, Scotland, to a hunting estate in Tuscany with a wild boar, mouflon, deer and hare shoot
-
The most likely outcome of the AI boom is a big fall
Opinion Like the dotcom boom of the late 1990s, AI is not paying off – despite huge investments being made in the hope of creating AI-based wealth
-
What we can learn from Britain’s "Dashing Dozen" stocks
Stocks that consistently outperform the market are clearly doing something right. What can we learn from the UK's top performers and which ones are still buys?
-
The rise of Robin Zeng: China’s billionaire battery king
Robin Zeng, a pioneer in EV batteries, is vying with Li Ka-shing for the title of Hong Kong’s richest person. He is typical of a new kind of tycoon in China