Building a Better Immunotherapy Mousetrap (GILD, TNIB, RHHBY)

Look out Roche Holding Ltd. (OTCMKTS:RHHBY). And Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)? You might want to look over your shoulder too. There's a new contender on the immunotherapy front, and its name is TNI Biotech Inc. (OTCMKTS:TNIB). No, it isn't a household name... at least not yet. But, TNIB could become a household name in the foreseeable future, by chipping away at the dominance currently enjoyed by the likes of GILD and RHHBY.

The idea of immunotherapy isn't exactly a new one. Indeed, at its basic form, penicillin and even more modern antibiotics are immunotherapies, designed to induce a body's natural disease-fighting response in order to more effectively fight an infection. However, immunology has advanced tremendously in recent years - admittedly led by the likes of Roche Holding and Gilead Sciences - and is now taking aim (effectively, to boot) at the biggies like cancer, autoimmune diseases, and HIV/AIDS.

The foundation for that proverbial quantum leap is a better understanding of how the human body's immune system works. Gone are the days where a high disease-fighting white blood cell count was the end-goal. Now we know the immune system is an incredibly complex science, with a lot of moving parts, and working interdependently with the body in a lot of different ways. That complexity, however, is also what's allowed a smaller player like TNI Biotech to begin building what could be a real threat to industry giants Gilead and Roche Holding. One small tweak in one of the immune system's many parts, and its ability to fight an illness could be turned on in a way it's never been turned on before.

TNI Biotech's key to building this better mousetrap are LDN (Low Dose Naltrexone) and MENK (methionine-enkephalin). These two compounds can boost and even restore an immune system simply by increasing the T and NK cell count, which prompts a person's own natural defenses... the best way to fight any ailment, assuming that immune system is still functioning property. That, however, has been the impasse with many medicines - all too often that patient's immune systems has already been damaged by the very disease it's trying to fight (which is the case with Human Immunodeficiency Virus, or HIV), or the diseased cells can effectively "hide" from that person's immune system, failing to trigger an immune response at all (which is the case with many cancers and tumors). The research from TNIB to date shows that a slight tweak in MENK and LDN could induce a major, positive response to illnesses. [See the company's explanation for more details.]

What's so compelling about the biotechnology isn't the premise, however - there are lots of immunotherapy companies out there. What's so impressive is how universal and adaptable the MENK and LDN-based approaches are.

This idea could be just as effective as a treatment for AIDS as it could be as treatment for cancer. In fact, the company believes this treatment approach could even help fight autoimmune diseases such as Crohn's or multiple sclerosis; LDN and MENK are very foundational parts of an entire immune system. That's why it wasn't hyperbole to say Roche Holding Ltd. and Gilead Sciences, Inc. may want to take notice. Roche is the world's biggest supplier of cancer drugs, while Gilead is the dominant name in HIV/AIDS therapies. Both companies deserve their current spots in the revenue hierarchy, but if a better medicine comes along....

It will still be years before TNI Biotech Inc. gets anything on the market; that's just the nature of biotech, or more specifically, the nature of the FDA's approval process. That does not mean TNIB isn't investment-worthy right now, though. The market prices in a drug's potential from the get-go, and the market also rewards a stock when its underlying company reaches key milestones. That's why investors looking for a ground floor opportunity - or perhaps looking for the next GILD or RHHBY - may want to consider TNIB now. This one small twist on how to induce an immune response could end up being a game-changer.

For more information on TNI Biotech, visit the SCN research page here.