Many medical experts say that washing your hands with soap and water or an alcohol–based hand sanitizer are the most effective means of minimizing the spread of the swine flu.

I have been researching a small company focused on the development of pharmaceuticals for the treatment of cancer, cardiovascular, autoimmune diseases and viral infections.  BioCryst Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:BCRX) is presently conducting trials for a new flu treatment called Peramivir that is said to be more effective than Tamiflu.  Currently, the drug Tamiflu is the preferred treatment for swine flu.  On July 17th BioCryst Pharmaceuticals released positive results from two Phase III studies of intravenous Peramivir in patients with seasonal influenza.

If Peramivir proves to be effective in fighting seasonal influenza it could quickly become the leading anti-viral treatment for the flu.  And, BioCryst stock should head much higher if Peramivir is included in any national stockpiles of swine flu treatments.

Buying BioCryst stock is a speculative endeavor because its Peramivir drug has not been fully approved.  Please keep in mind that BioCryst is an extremely high-risk trade, as the stock is up 1,100% since November of 2008.

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals Inc. (BCRX) will announce its second quarter 2009 financial results today, July 30, 2009.   If you wish to purchase shares, you should wait until after the earnings announcement to avoid any possible downside surprises.

Best Wishes,

Ted Peroulakis

Source: The Swine Flu Play

Think about the service this company has done mankind. C. diff, as hospital diarrhea is called, is a growing cause of hospital deaths. Though many cases outside of hospitals are never diagnosed, we know it kills at least 30,000 Americans annually. Those who do recover, about 9 out of ten, can suffer horribly for months. Bravo to Medarex and all those who made this breakthrough possible by investing your money in this incredibly worth effort.

So what does this have to do with swine flu?

So far, swine flu is a minor problem compared to C. diff. Only one person in the U.S. has died from the infection. Survival rates, in fact, are far higher than they are for C. diff. Still, it could get worse, and governments are looking for a vaccine. So, just what are the financial opportunities?

I see nothing significant in the short run. One can never account for mob psychology though, and there have already been surges in some vaccine companies. In terms of fundamentals, however, I don’t think standard flu vaccines are going to make investors rich. The reason is that governments are the real customers for flu vaccines. On top of that, vaccines are an established industry and yields tend to be driven down by competition.

Those who are interested in playing swings should probably look into:

• Novavax  (NASDAQ: NVAX)
• Dynavax (NASDAQ: DVAX)
• Hemispherx Biopharma (AMEX: HEB)
• BioCryst Pharma (NASDAQ: BCRX)
• AVI BioPharma (NASDAQ: AVII)
• deCode Genetics (NASDAQ: DCGN)
• Crucell (NASDAQ: CRXL)
• Vical (NASDAQ: VICL)

This does not mean there are not long-term flu-related opportunities. Even if swine flu doesn’t turn into a major pandemic, influenza is a serious international problem that drains resources and lives. The World Health Organization, estimates that influenza infects 5 to 15% of the world’s population in a typical year. This results in 250,000 to 500,000 deaths. The WHO and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are, of course, concerned about the potential for a major global pandemic. Medical science has progressed significantly since 1918, when the “Spanish Flu” killed upward of 50 million people; but it is still a serious illness.

Right now, the headlines generated by the flu are largely about trying to track and stop its progress. Today, this is extremely difficult. There are, however, solutions on the horizon.

I’ve written before about biochip sensors. These are a true transformational technology. Last year, agricultural losses of hundreds of millions of dollars were caused by the inability to quickly locate the source of a salmonella infection. What is needed, and will arrive in the not-so-distant future, are sensors that can detect disease pathogens cheaply and instantaneously. Think Star Trek tricorders…

And we’re getting close. EETimes is reporting that CombiMatrix Corp. (NASDAQ: CBMX) has made biochips that can be programmed to identify any known flu type. CombiMatrix says its microarray can be updated for new influenzas in less than a day and can deliver test results in only four hours.

A little bit further out are even bigger profit opportunities. Specifically, we’re looking at is an end to specific flu vaccines.

Pandemic influenzas emerge from a sudden change in the flu virus against which there is no immunity. Vaccines are the mainstay of flu prevention, but they have two key limitations. First, they are developed against single, known flu strains. Therefore, they may be ineffective against new strains. Second, vaccines are produced using a lengthy process requiring incubation in chicken eggs. New flu vaccines take months or years to stockpile.

There are general antiviral medications approved to treat influenza. Influenza virus strains, however, can become resistant to these medications. For this reason, scientists are looking to RNA interference for a brand new approach to preventing flu viruses.

I know of at least two companies that have been engaged in the search for an RNAi flu cure. The potential advantage of RNAi antiviral therapeutics is that RNAi can be used to provoke an immune response that prevents replication of all influenza viruses, new or old. Stockpiling of an effective RNAi treatment would be possible in advance of a global pandemic and could be used for routine flus as well. Moreover, whoever produces the therapy would have a significant profit potential.

For transformational profits,
Patrick Cox

Source: Why Standard Flu Vaccines Won’t Make Investors Rich

Consider that the mortality rate of this flu is significantly lower than other outbreaks. For example, avian flu killed 61% of infected patients. The SARS death rate was 10%. And so far, swine flu has resulted in deaths of 7% of patients.

And then there’s “normal,” everyday flu, which causes the death of between 250,000 and 500,000 people around the world each year. Roughly 36,000 of those are Americans. And so far this year, approximately 12,000 Americans have already died from “normal” flu.

But the media machine doesn’t talk about that…

Crank Up The Hype Machine

The media is doing what it usually does – over-hyping the issue and whipping everyone into a panic. Face masks and hand sanitizers are flying off the shelves. And it’s not just in America either. In Egypt, the government ordered the slaughter of ALL pigs in the country. How’s that for reactionary?

People are frightened of a 1918-type pandemic that killed between 20 million and 40 million people. But it’s important to realize that this was before the invention of a modern healthcare system and many medicines that now treat flu or ancillary infections.

In addition, some news was censored at the time, due to World War I. People didn’t have access to the necessary, simple information that they could have used to protect themselves and their communities.

About the only voice of reason has come from President Obama, who reminded us what our mothers have told us for years – wash your hands frequently and cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze.

The Real Way To Build Real Wealth

Even if the swine flu outbreak becomes more serious, this is not an investing theme. “Five Stocks For The Swine Flu Pandemic” may be an attention-grabbing headline, but it’s not going to create real wealth.

As Karim noted here on Tuesday, any share price moves related to swine flu are likely to be short-lived.

That goes for a biotech company like Biocryst (Nasdaq: BCRX), which currently has an anti-flu therapy in clinical trials. It applies to Gilead Sciences (Nasdaq: GILD), which receives a royalty on Tamiflu. And it even goes for Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT), which can’t restock masks and hand sanitizers fast enough.

No, to build real wealth, you need to follow the same sound investment principles as always, regardless of any highly publicized short-term events.

That means employing investment strategies like covered calls, LEAPS, and put-selling that will generate low-risk, high reward profits in a market-beating, crowd-beating way.

It also means owning a diversified portfolio of strong companies like Psychiatric Solutions (Nasdaq: PSYS), which Karim recommended in the Xcelerated Profits Report (XPR) at $14.30 on April 16 and is already up 34%.

Or companies like Calgon Carbon Corp (NYSE: CCC) and Robbins & Myers (NYSE: RBN), both of which I also recommended in XPR. The stocks are up 35% in two months and 29% in one month, respectively.

So like the President and your mother told you… wash your hands and take reasonable precautions to stay healthy. But don’t change your portfolio or investing style in reaction to swine flu. If you do, you’ll likely wind up feeling sick to your stomach.

Source: The Media Is In “Flu Frenzy”… Here’s How To Invest Amid A Panic