When I began this series on my favorite under-the-radar stocks, I suspected it would become a popular feature of The Deep Woods. Well, my suspicions proved prescient, as I’ve heard from many readers about how much they liked it. More importantly, you’ve told me you want more. So, back by popular demand, this week, I present you the third installment of my favorite under-the-radar stocks, and this time with a company whose medical technology is combatting the emperor of all maladies, cancer.
Before we dig into the details of this favorite under-the-radar stock, let me remind you of my criteria to be included in this list. First, the company has a management team/CEO that I know personally (i.e., we’ve met, and I can call on the phone right now). Second, it has a business model and/or position in the marketplace I think offers a unique opportunity for investors to make big returns over time. Third, the company/stock meets many of my fundamental and technical buying criteria.
Now, if you have been a reader of this publication for even a short time, you likely know that I am into health and fitness, a pursuit I like to call nurturing your first wealth. Yet no matter how fit one may be, the emperor of all maladies is always lurking, and he is likely to afflict us all with what is perhaps the scariest word in the English language: cancer.
The headlines just this week about President Biden battling an aggressive, stage-4 prostate cancer that has metastasized to his bones was shocking for many reasons other than just medical, but the reality is that prostate cancer is all too common. In fact, it is the most common form of cancer in males. And, try as we might to avoid it, cancer is likely to affect nearly all of us.
I say that because even if we escape a cancer diagnosis ourselves, we are likely going to know someone who has been diagnosed, or that will be diagnosed at some point. My former partner had breast cancer that, fortunately, we overcame with good medical treatment. Another good friend of mine, one who was a writing mentor of mine, died about 10 years ago from esophageal cancer. When I asked him about his diagnosis, he told me that it was stage 4. Then he delivered me the chilling follow up: “Jim, there is no stage 5.”
I bring up this personal background with the emperor of all maladies because I am very interested in this subject from both a personal health standpoint and when it comes to science trying to find ways to combat this pernicious condition. And, though there are many very smart people working very hard to combat cancer, the battle rages on, unconquered.
Yet, what if there were a therapy that was actually capable of contributing mightily to the cancer wars? And what if that therapy could harness the power of the body’s own immune system to unleash the combative abilities of so-call “natural killer cells” to battle those hypergrowth cancer cells?
Well, there is such a thing in development, and that under-the-radar company/stock doing just that is GT Biopharma (NASDAQ: GTBP). The company describes itself as a clinical stage immuno-oncology company focused on developing innovative therapeutics based on its proprietary TriKE® natural killer (NK) cell engager platform.
Last week, I spoke with GT Biopharma Executive Chairman and CEO Michael Breen about the current state of the company and its latest research. Now, I had met Michael nearly a year ago to the day at, of all places, President Trump’s “Winter White House,” the opulent Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida. At that time, Michael told me he would have some news in the months ahead about the company and its cancer-fighting drug efforts.
Well, that news came last week, as he brought me up to speed on the latest developments with GT Biopharma. On Monday, the company issued a press release announcing the successful completion of dosing in Cohort 1 and subsequent initiation of dosing in Cohort 2 of its Phase 1 dose escalation trial evaluating GTB-3650 for the treatment of relapsed or refractory (r/r) CD33 expressing hematologic malignancies.
Yes, I know that’s quite lingo-laced here, but basically it means that there were no safety or tolerability issues observed in clinical trial patients, which allows the company to move forward with the next group of patients. Michael said that the company plans on releasing more detailed results from its Phase 1 efforts later this year following completion of additional dose cohorts.
What all of this translates to for potential investors in GTBP is that the company is on a path to demonstrate the efficacy and safety of its therapies in humans. And if the results come back successful, that will go a long way toward piquing the interest of the “big boys” in the cancer fighting space.
In other words, the more proof that GT Biopharma’s immuno-oncology therapies can be effective in the cancer wars, the more likely it would be that the company would be acquired at a premium to the share price by a major pharmaceutical firm.
When that happens, and under what conditions that would happen, etc., are far from being determined at this juncture. However, what isn’t up for determination is GTBP’s interest from investors of late. Just in today’s trade, shares are up nearly 16%, having recently breached the 50-day and 200-day moving averages. Shares now are up nearly 25% in just the past week!
This is the kind of positive Wall Street response to the recent news that really put this under-the-radar stock back on my personal radar, and now that I’ve seen it ping my screen, it’s time you added it to your stock radar as well.
Finally, I’m a huge believer in cutting-edge science directed toward enhancing human flourishing. One aspect of human flourishing is to conquer nature’s ailments, and to push them into the background so that we can live healthy, happy lives in the present moment, right here, right now.
GT Biopharma is working on just such a human flourishing project. And if they are successful, their efforts could very well help investors flourish alongside them.
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On Stupid Questions
“If there are no stupid questions, then what kind of questions do stupid people ask? Do they get smart just in time to ask questions?”
–Scott Adams
Because this issue is focused on cancer, I felt the need to use a quote from a writer that I admire that just came out publicly to say that he, too, has stage-4 prostate cancer similar to that of President Biden. That writer is Scott Adams, creator of the iconic comic series, “Dilbert.” Anyone who has been in the corporate world knows how insightful Dilbert is, as Adams was able to highlight the absurdities of corporate life through the eyes of the sardonic, unassuming and loveable Dilbert.
I was saddened to hear of Adams’ diagnosis, as I was saddened to hear about President Biden’s diagnosis. I never met Adams, but I did spend about six hours sitting next to then Senator Biden on a plane ride from Washington, D.C. to Los Angeles. And, though we didn’t agree on much politically, I did enjoy those six hours engaging with the man who did become the leader of the free world. I wish both Scott Adams and President Biden the very best, and I hope their concomitant diagnosis helps bring the cancer battle into further public prominence.
In my view, comfort is overrated. I say that because discomfort, or resistance or hesitation or fear or doubt regarding something is often a sign that we need to do that very thing. The best example here is your fitness and your workouts. You know that working out properly is hard. And sometimes you don’t want to do it. But if you don’t face your discomfort and just do the workout, you won’t get stronger and fitter. So, if you want to be a “superior man” in the Confucius sense, then always keep your mind on the virtues you hold dearest, and not the desire for comfort that the common man seeks.
Wisdom about money, investing and life can be found anywhere. If you have a good quote that you’d like me to share with your fellow readers, send it to me, along with any comments, questions and suggestions you have about my newsletters, seminars or anything else. Click here to ask Jim.
In the name of the best within us,
Jim Woods
