Edward Nash of SunTrust Robinson Humphrey Urges Investors to Swap from Tech to Biotech Stocks

April 3, 2018

Edward Nash is a Managing Director and Senior Analyst covering the biotechnology and life sciences sector at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey. He brings 17 years of experience from both the buy side and sell side, joining SunTrust Robinson Humphrey from Cowen and Company. Mr. Nash earned his MBA in finance and M.S. in international business from the University of Miami, as well as a Master of Public Health in epidemiology from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.  In his exclusive interview with the Wall Street Transcript, Edward Nash bangs the table for biotech.

“I remain bullish on the space overall. We have several companies with important clinical and regulatory milestones occurring in 2018. There are many technology platforms that have made great advances within the clinic over the past couple of years and that have been viewed very favorable by regulators, specifically gene therapy and immune oncology. The great divide that once separated basic science from clinical reality for several technologies has narrowed dramatically. I believe that we will see this momentum continue as we progress further into 2018.”

One early market winner is picked by Mr. Nash as a winner.  “Perhaps as you can already tell, gene therapy is one of my areas of focus, and I continue to be very bullish on Spark Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ONCE). With the recent FDA approval of LUXTURNA, the company will be the first U.S. biotech to make the pivot from the clinic to commercial arena. The company is also potentially paving the way for some unique approaches to reimbursement for gene therapy products. Pricing has been a big black box for all gene therapy companies. Spark has come up with some innovative approaches where we believe all stakeholders come out on top.”

Mr. Nash sees a number of new drugs coming to market in the near future, powering equity  valuations.  “I think this is happening more due to the new FDA Commissioner. He was a banker and analyst in the space, and is a physician, so he understands how drug development works. That is definitely something we have not seen before to this degree with a commissioner. We are definitely seeing a much more friendly FDA that wants to start early in dialoging with companies to help them navigate the process efficiently.”

To get all of Edward Nash’s current stock picks, read the entire interview in the Wall Street Transcript.