Worth Note Finance

Bird flu, also called avian influenza, is a serious public health threat with the potential to become an actual public health problem. The animal outbreaks of bird flu in Asia, Europe, the Near East and Africa are being taken seriously by experts who are concerned that this dangerous virus could mutate into a serious human disease problem. To learn more about the seriousness of the problem, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website is a good place to go: CDC: Avian Flu Outbreaks.

Human cases have been relatively rare so far, and most scientists believe that existing bird flu strains cannot easily spread directly from one human to another. Due to the potential widespread devastation that could result from a mutated, human-adapted bird flu virus, governments around the world are investing in vaccines and drugs to prevent or stop such an outbreak.

Investors may have a unique opportunity to profit from this public health concern because a few innovative companies are well along in the process of developing what are sometimes called pandemic flu vaccines.  The U.S. FDA approved the first U.S. vaccine for humans against avian influenza in April, 2007. The vaccine is made by Sanofi Pasteur, Inc., which is a subsidiary of the French drugmaker, Sanofi-Aventis. You can learn more about them by visiting their website: http://www.sanofi-aventis.com. Their stock is traded under the symbol SNY on the New York Stock Exchange. Like most stocks, the price of SNY fell quite a bit during much of 2008, but the company is strong and diversified in world pharmceutical markets.

At the opposite end of the size spectrum, an interesting company with sophisticated technology for vaccines against potential pandemic flu strains is iBioPharma Inc., a newly public company with ties to the large non-profit Fraunhofer Institute. The stock of iBioPharma is traded on the OTC Bulletin Board under the symbol IBPM. This public biotech company was created by a spin-off from an older parent company focused on non-biotech markets. The market value of iBioPharma stock dropped substantially after the spin-off, maybe due to selling by parent company shareholders disinterested in the biotech markets. You can learn more about iBiopharma at their website: http://www.ibiopharma.com .

During the economic events of late 2008, it is hard to blame anyone for converting stock they don’t want into cash. However, this little company is worth watching because of it’s longstanding relationship with the respected scientific program of the Fraunhofer Institute, the quality of which was endorsed by a recent grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for clinical development of a bird flu vaccine.

Success in averting disaster is obviously a noble goal, and as the smart scientists of SNY and IBPM go about their important work, people who like to invest for future profits may have an opportunity to join them in both their medical and financial success.

Note: The author of this article does not own any stock in either of the companies mentioned. This article is intended for educational purposes only and is not a recommendation to buy or sell any security.