The Principal Healthcare Innovators Index ETF (Nasdaq: BTEC) is already on a scintillating pace this year and that upside could be extended as a wave of coronavirus vaccines hits the wires over the near-term.
This batch of news is vital because many of the companies involved in the COVID-19 vaccine competition, including some BTEC member firms, are in advanced stages of trials, meaning the imminent updates are pivotal to forecasting when a vaccine will be fit for human consumption.
“After a bit of a late summer breather, news about a Covid-19 vaccine is heating up again as a handful of leading programs move rapidly into a decisive phase,” reports Josh Nathan-Kazis for Barron’s.
BTEC tracks the Nasdaq U.S. Healthcare Innovators Index, which is designed to provide exposure to early-stage small-capitalization healthcare companies. These are primarily biotechnology and life science, which have the potential to create cures for cancer, develop new medical technologies, or spearhead other medical advances.
Imminent Updates
With its positioning at the cusp of healthcare innovation, a theme being spotlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic, BTEC is proving youthful healthcare investments can be served. BTEC, which turns four years old in August, “seeks to tap into the increasing demand for healthcare solutions as demographic trends have driven healthcare spending to more than double in the last 20 years,” according to Principal.
The race for a vaccine continues in the U.S. as well, where Johnson & Johnson executive also told Reuters the company could generate 1 billion doses of its vaccine, given that the trials are a success. Investors looking to invest in biotech and a potential vaccine can look into ETFs like BTEC.
“Meanwhile, in a call with reporters Thursday morning, a Food and Drug Administration official said that the agency’s external vaccine- advisory panel might meet on Oct. 22 to discuss a Covid-19 vaccine, according to Bloomberg. The official did not say which vaccine the panel would discuss, but Pfizer has said it hopes to have Phase 3 data on its vaccine by then,” according to Barron’s.
If some developers provided positive updates and can put a timeline on when their vaccines will come to market, healthcare ETFs could rally into year-end, potentially erasing some of the election year risk this group traditionally faces.
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The opinions and forecasts expressed herein are solely those of Tom Lydon, and may not actually come to pass. Information on this site should not be used or construed as an offer to sell, a solicitation of an offer to buy, or a recommendation for any product.