Is This Biotech Stock a Buy After a Groundbreaking Approval?

While some biotech investors are focused on the weight-loss market (and with good reason), breakthroughs are happening elsewhere. Take Regeneron (NASDAQ: REGN), a major player in the industry. The drugmaker recently scored a breakthrough that investors should take note of. On April 23, Regeneron announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had granted accelerated approval for Otarmeni, a gene therapy for OTOF-related hearing loss. It became the first and only gene therapy for genetic deafness to earn approval. What does this milestone mean for Regeneron? Image source: The Motley Fool.Otarmeni works by delivering a working copy of the OTOF gene into patients' inner ear cells. In a clinical trial involving 20 patients, 80% showed hearing improvement, and 42% of those followed for 48 weeks after treatment achieved normal hearing. Note that people with OTOF-related hearing loss are typically deaf from birth. This fact highlights what a major achievement Regeneron just scored. And there is even more good news for eligible patients, though it may seem puzzling to investors: Regeneron has decided to offer Otarmeni to U.S. patients for free. On the surface, this decision is a head-scratcher.Continue readingWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei MotleyFool Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei MotleyFool