As the American Society of Hematology conference wrapped up, Corinne Cardina, bureau chief of healthcare and cannabis, and Fool.com contributor Brian Orelli discussed the best investments in the hematology space. In this video from Motley Fool Live, recorded on Dec. 14, Brian talks about why bluebird bio (BLUE -6.21%) is a well-rounded company in the space as it develops treatments for both traditional blood diseases and blood cancer. He also pitches IGM Biosciences (IGMS -8.82%), an up-and-coming drugmaker developing bispecific antibodies to treat blood cancers.
Corinne Cardina: So what would you say are the most intriguing stocks in the hematology space today?
Brian Orelli: I think if you want to invest specifically for hematology, bluebird bio, ticker there is BLUE, is definitely the leader here, because it's working in both blood diseases, sickle cell disease, and beta-thalassemia, and then as well it's in the CAR-T cancer space with Bristol Myers -- it has a partnership with Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY -0.58%). It was partnered with Celgene, and then Bristol Myers Squibb bought Celgene. The LentiGlobin gene therapy is for beta-thalassemia and sickle cell disease, and then they have ide-cell, which is a CAR-T that treats multiple myeloma. It seems different, but they are both using gene therapy as a way to design the therapy. Bluebird bio is a specialist in gene therapy at this point.
Then I'd go back to IGM Biosciences. Much more speculative because it's early stage; they have phase 1 data. But definitely an ability to increase on their stock price even more if they can continue to develop data.
