In 2021 alone, $107.9 billion was invested into the biotech and health care industries – particularly into companies developing coronavirus vaccines and therapies.

While the NASDAQ Biotechnology Index fell more than 14% in January in anticipation of forthcoming interest hikes, there is still ample opportunity – perhaps now more than ever – for investors to bank serious returns.

Take Moderna, for example.

While Moderna wasn’t immune (no pun intended) to stock market volatility in January, its story is a great example of success for its angel investors. In fact, one of Moderna’s earliest investors, Timothy Springer, realized a staggering return on his initial investment.

And when I say staggering, I’m not kidding around…

In April 2020, his $5 million investment ballooned 17,000% to $800 million; Moderna was listed at roughly $50 a share at the time. Springer’s returns have continued to rise, as the price – despite dropping in recent weeks – currently sits at $172 per share.

As a result, he and two other early-Moderna investors were named among the 400 richest Americans, each with a multi-billion-dollar net worth.

And, with the biotech market expected to grow at a CAGR of 15.8% through 2028, we expect Springer’s story to be just one of many fortunes made in this space.

So why isn’t everyone investing in biotech deals? For starters, they can involve longer timelines to exit – mostly because new drugs and medical devices need to go through rigorous testing to gain FDA clearance.

However, the breakneck speed at which the first COVID vaccines were approved and brought to market shows that life-saving solutions can be fast-tracked.

And there is no shortage of innovation in the biotech industry, as startups look to tackle big problems and set investors up for immense success. However, when biotech startups receive FDA clearance, they are already making waves and headlines. By that time, most of the biggest gains are no longer on the table for investors.

That’s where Angels & Entrepreneurs comes in, as we analyze hordes of biotech startups on crowdfunding platforms with a goal of identifying those that are most likely to gain FDA approval down the line.

One promising biotech startup is DELEE, a company that is seeking to change the way cancer is detected. Circulating tumor cells are those that have detached from tumors and travel through the bloodstream, thus contributing to cancer’s spread. However, until DELEE, detecting these cells among the millions of white and billions of red blood cells was extremely challenging.

DELEE is also able to profit off of the technology before receiving FDA clearance for commercial use. It has already secured pre-orders worth up to $2.5 million from various hospital research centers.

Meanwhile, returning to the subject of vaccinations, EnGen Bio is a biotech startup with its sights set on forever altering flu vaccine administration. Annual flu shots have become commonplace in society, and although more than 100 million flu shots are given annually, those shots are essentially making educated guesses as to which strain of the flu will be the dominant one that season.

EnGen Bio has discovered that all influenza A viruses have something in common – an isolated monoclonal antibody. Don’t worry, you don’t need to know what that is or means. But what you do need to know is that this company is developing a flu vaccine that would provide recipients with lifetime immunity. If EnGen Bio is right, then annual flu shots will be a thing of the past.

These are not the only biotech companies worth paying attention to though, and while startups present the biggest opportunity for growth, there are some publicly-traded biotech companies that could be primed to take off in their own right.

In fact, our top expert is putting the finishing touches on research into two in particular…

So be sure to keep your eyes on your inboxes in the coming weeks to find out more.

The Research Team