Investors in Ozempic have made huge profits. Now our stock-picking expert unearths the companies working on the blockbuster treatments of the future - which could make you a packet

Shareholders successful nan makers of weight-loss supplier Ozempic person made immense profits. Now our award-winning Midas banal picking expert, Joanne Hart, unearths nan companies moving connected imaginable blockbuster treatments of nan future.

Anyone astute aliases fortunate capable to person bought shares successful Danish pharmaceuticals group Novo Nordisk 3 years agone would person seen their finance summation five-fold, acknowledgment to Ozempic and its different weight-loss drugs.

The supplier business is 1 of nan biggest successful nan world. As good arsenic providing dream for patients, it is nan root of immense excitement for investors. New wonder-drugs tin make immense returns - though location are risks.

So-called blockbuster narcotics are nan industry's apical dogs. These remedies present yearly income of $1billion (£800 million) aliases much for nan companies trading them and location were 52 of them successful 2023, generating successful excess of £400billion betwixt them.

That was a 3rd of each supplier income past year. So possibly it is not astonishing that each pharmaceutical institution successful nan world is successful hunt of nan adjacent large thing.

It is not easy. Many treatments neglect to fulfil hopes, are overtaken by rivals, aliases tally into trouble pinch regulators.

But that does not extremity companies from trying - and if they succeed, nan rewards tin beryllium huge, for patients and investors.

Take Novo Nordisk. It started retired much than 100 years agone and it took decades of painstaking investigation for nan Danish elephantine to scope its position today, worthy immoderate £380billion and classed arsenic nan astir valuable institution successful Europe.

The institution is making immense amounts of money for shareholders, transforming millions of lives and attracting some admiration and envy from healthcare peers.

For investors, this Danish saga prompts 1 cardinal question: are location different companies retired location which mightiness travel suit? Could nan UK beryllium harbouring a early Novo Nordisk or, astatine nan very least, a pharma institution pinch nan imaginable to present outsize gains for shareholders?

Here, we look astatine nan companies that mightiness beryllium sitting connected caller big-selling drugs, though location are nary guarantees and moreover manufacture giants are not immune to criticism. Only past week, a study was published linking Ozempic to a sight-loss disease. Novo Nordisk claimed nan study had limitations but its shares still mislaid 3 per cent of their value. The consequence conscionable shows that investors must ever measurement up nan risks erstwhile they bargain shares and should ne'er put money they cannot spend to lose.

Scancell 

Britain is wide recognised arsenic a healthcare powerhouse pinch firms champing astatine nan spot to nutrient blockbuster sales.

Many are successful nan cancer field. Despite nan hype astir Ozempic, nan marketplace for crab narcotics is astatine slightest 3 times bigger than its weight-loss counterpart and expected to stay truthful for years.

Already generating income of almost £175billion a year, revenues from crab treatments are forecast to much than double this decade and transportation connected rising thereafter.

That leaves room for plentifulness of blockbusters and Scancell is hoping to create 1 of them.

Founded by immunologist Professor Lindy Durrant, nan institution is processing a cure for precocious tegument crab and early signs are highly encouraging.

The curen combines a vaccine developed by Durrant and her squad pinch 2 wide disposable drugs. Trials to day person shown an 85 per cent occurrence rate, acold outweighing replacement approaches and amended than Durrant ever imagined.

Vaccines are usually associated pinch illness prevention, from smallpox to bales to Covid.

Cancer vaccines are different. They purpose to stimulate nan body's immune strategy truthful that it produces cells that will conflict and destruct crab tumours.

Researchers person been trying to create an effective vaccine for years but crab keeps outwitting them.

Durrant's Eureka infinitesimal came erstwhile she decided to effort a operation approach, blending her immune-system-boosting vaccine pinch narcotics that let nan medicine to participate tumorous cells and do their magic.

The curen has already proved successful connected a mini group of patients. A larger proceedings will beryllium fresh by nan extremity of this twelvemonth and further studies are expected thereafter.

Drug tests tin return years but Durrant should beryllium capable to move faster, arsenic her curen could beryllium a lifesaver. There is besides nan anticipation of moving into different forms of cancer, which could thief millions of group worldwide.

Existing crab treatments thin to beryllium highly expensive, riddled pinch side-effects aliases both. Scancell's therapy is elemental to make, easier connected nan assemblage than alternatives and a batch cheaper too.

Midas verdict: Scancell shares, which are listed connected nan inferior AIM market, are little than 12p today. The institution has been done reliable times and thing is definite successful nan world of supplier research. But Durrant has much than 40 years' acquisition successful nan crab field. She is simply a renowned professor astatine Nottingham University and believes she is connected to a winner. If she is right, Scancell could alert - and that makes nan shares good worthy considering.

Avacta 

Avacta is besides striving to dainty crab much effectively, this clip by making chemotherapy much targeted and little toxic for patients.

No 1 doubts that chemotherapy tin activity wonders connected tumours but it has sometimes ruinous side-effects, from nausea to utmost fatigue to a ferocious simplification successful immunity.

These hap because chemotherapy kills immoderate cells that are dividing, whether they are patient aliases not. Avacta has recovered a clever small macromolecule that tin beryllium added to chemotherapy narcotics truthful they only termination cancerous cells, leaving nan remainder of nan assemblage alone.

Trials are astatine an moreover earlier shape than Scancell's but they are already attracting liking from starring specialists and supplier firms, because they could beryllium revolutionise crab curen worldwide.

Midas verdict: Avacta, which is besides listed connected AIM, has had a agelong and tumultuous past. In January, however, Christina Coughlin was parachuted successful arsenic main executive and a caller president was appointed only past month. Changes are already nether measurement and much are expected this year. A crab expert successful nan US for galore years, Coughlin has seen nan debilitating effects of chemotherapy first-hand and is keen to do everything successful her powerfulness to amended patients' lives. With decades of acquisition successful supplier companies ample and small, she is besides good equipped to return Avacta to nan adjacent level. At 60p, nan shares are worthy a person look.

Allergy Therapeutics 

Nestle is champion known for snacks and drinks but successful 2020, nan Swiss elephantine forked retired $2billion to bargain California-based Aimmune Therapeutics, which had developed a supplier to thief peanut allergy sufferers.

The woody proved disappointing and Nestle sold nan business 3 years later for an undisclosed sum.

Allergy Therapeutics is hoping for overmuch greater occurrence pinch a caller curen for peanut allergies.

Aimmune's supplier has to beryllium taken for up to 2 years and sufferers stay allergic to peanuts, conscionable little truthful than they were initially. But Sussex-based Allergy Therapeutics is moving connected a vaccine that would cure peanut allergy sufferers wholly pinch 1 to 3 injections, followed by a booster each decade aliases so.

Early signs are promising and nan group expects to commencement much extended tests by early adjacent year. The vaccine could beryllium a game-changer. Peanut allergies tin person devastating consequences, pinch moreover minuscule vulnerability sending sufferers into daze aliases worse. Around 3 per cent of Americans and Brits suffer from nan allergy. Numbers are expanding and truthful are fatalities, pinch dozens of deaths recorded each year.

An effective vaccine would not only toggle shape lives but besides catapult Allergy Therapeutics into blockbuster territory, sending its 5p stock value into orbit.

Chief executive Manuel Llobet has different wound astatine nan blockbuster cherry too, pinch a hay fever vaccine. This is overmuch person to commercialized motorboat and could execute income amounting to hundreds of millions of pounds.

Midas verdict: Allergy Therapeutics has been done nan mill and its shares person slumped from highs of much than 50p earlier nan financial situation to astir 4.9p today. But nan Nestle woody proves really overmuch large firms are prepared to scatter retired connected breathtaking caller drugs. For adventurous investors, now could beryllium an breathtaking clip to threat up immoderate Allergy shares.

OptiBiotix 

Slimming products person been astir for decades but, until Ozempic took nan world by storm, astir focused connected repast replacement shakes and bars. These tin present speedy results but galore dieters find they are difficult to instrumentality pinch for immoderate magnitude of time. Ozempic useful otherwise from these low-calorie products. It reduces cravings and appetite truthful users simply do not consciousness quiet and are little inclined to scope for nan biscuit tin astatine tea-time. Ozempic has been heralded arsenic a occurrence cure and income ran into billions of dollars past year.

Closer to home, York-based OptiBiotix has created a merchandise which useful successful a akin measurement to Ozempic, made wholly from earthy ingredients.

Developed by professors astatine Nottingham and Reading universities, SlimBiome has been proven to thief users suffer weight, while lowering humor pressure, improving temper and doing wonders for their gut bacteria.

SlimBiome is not a supplier but it has been developed scientifically, moving connected nan mentation that if group consciousness little quiet and acquisition less cravings, they will people devour little food.

The merchandise is already connected sale, done Amazon, Holland & Barrett and The Hut Group, arsenic good arsenic respective businesses overseas.

Adoption was disappointing successful nan past but liking has risen significantly, now that Ozempic has brought nan full conception of appetite simplification into focus.

Deals person been struck pinch Indian elephantine Tata Group and US mega-retailer CostCo. Chief executive Stephen O'Hara is successful talks pinch different large American patient astir a world motorboat of SlimBiome adjacent year.

Midas verdict: O'Hara has struggled for years to make nan lawsuit for SlimBiome. Now Ozempic is almost doing nan activity for him. SlimBiome is simply a earthy product, pinch nary broadside effects and it is considerably cheaper than its aesculapian counterparts. If nan world wakes up to its potential, OptiBiotix shares, now 15p, should soar.

For nan cautious 

Small, pioneering healthcare firms are not for nan cautious. However, location are plentifulness of options for investors who fancy immoderate vulnerability to nan world of narcotics but would for illustration to put their money into a larger and much established company.

Valued astatine much than £185billion, AstraZeneca is nan biggest institution connected nan FTSE 100 index, pinch 13 blockbusters already connected nan roster.

Boss Pascal Soriot has lined up different 25 imaginable winners by 2030 and hopes almost to double income to £60 cardinal successful nan aforesaid clip frame.

Many subordinate AstraZeneca pinch its Covid-19 vaccine but nan group's pipeline centres connected weight loss, crab and cistron therapy medicines.

At £120.88 each, AstraZeneca shares are not inexpensive but they person delivered accordant rewards, particularly successful caller years.

And for investors who for illustration information successful numbers, costs whitethorn connection nan champion solution.

Investment experts astatine AJ Bell azygous retired nan International Biotechnology Trust. Analysts astatine Fidelity International propose nan Legal & General Global Health & Pharmaceuticals Index fund, Syncona, an finance spot focussed connected healthcare, nan Worldwide Healthcare Trust, nan Biotech Growth Trust and nan Polar Capital Global Healthcare Trust.