Biotechnology stocks have seen a spike in merger and acquisition (M&A) activity. In March 2026 alone, there were 10 deals valued at approximately $31.5 billion.
A key reason for this activity is the upcoming patent cliff. This is the period when a drug loses its exclusive status and can face biosimilar competition. Analysts are forecasting that the industry faces a $300 billion patent cliff by 2030.
Two of the large-cap biopharma companies with best-selling drugs speeding toward the cliff are Merck & Co. (NYSE: MRK) with its blockbuster Keytruda drug and Bristol Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY) with Eliquis. These are quality names that offer investors the safety of strong balance sheets and dividends.
There's an opportunity here for investors with an appetite for risk. That comes from the companies that could be future acquisition targets. These are companies that specialize in drugs that could change the biotech paradigm from chronic management to one-time cures.
Acquirable Assets: Which Biotechs Deserve a Higher Floor
It's not uncommon for every stock in a sector to move in tandem, but biotechnology right now requires a qualifier: the companies with the most potential are those with acquirable assets. Investors should look for three things:
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The underlying science is differentiated enough that a large-cap company can’t quickly replicate it.
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The company owns its intellectual property.
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The drug/therapeutic has an indication that is large enough to move revenue and earnings for the acquiring company.
Many small-cap biotech names don’t meet every bar, which is only one reason this is such a tricky sector for investors. However, there are three names that investors should be watching. Each presents investors with an opportunity at a different point on the risk/maturity curve.
This isn’t predicting that these companies will be acquired. But because they check all three boxes above, as well as offer the promise of a potential one-time cure for chronic or untreatable diseases.
First-Mover Advantage in Gene Editing
Gene editing is a paradigm-shifting opportunity, and CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ: CRSP) is an established pure play in the space. Unlike other names in this space, CRISPR already has a product in the market. In fact, CASGEVY delivered over $100 million in revenue in 2025. The company has also announced that patient initiations have nearly tripled year-over-year.
CASGEVY addresses sickle cell disease (SCD) and beta-thalassemia. Large, but relatively niche, markets. A key growth vector may come from its work in the cardiovascular space. The company’s CTX310 drug candidate is a potential one-and-done option for patients who need to quickly lower their triglyceride and LDL levels.
This is where the opportunity resides. CTX310 just delivered positive Phase 1 data. That means there’s still a runway to commercial approval, but the early results are positive.
Analysts are generally bullish on CRSP, but of the 19 analysts tracked by MarketBeat, the stock has two Sell ratings. Short interest is also around 24% as of this writing. That means investors may want to scale into a position gradually and use dips as times to be more aggressive.
High-Risk, High-Reward In Vivo Editing
If CRISPR Therapeutics represents the most commercially mature name in this space, Intellia Therapeutics (NASDAQ: NTLA) represents its highest stakes bet. Intellia is the pioneer of in vivo CRISPR editing. This means its therapies make edits directly inside the body rather than in a lab setting first. That distinction matters because it dramatically expands the range of diseases that gene editing can reach.
Intellia's two late-stage candidates are nexiguran ziclumeran (nex-z), developed in partnership with Regeneron for transthyretin amyloidosis (ATTR), and lonvoguran ziclumeran (lonvo-z), a wholly owned program targeting hereditary angioedema (HAE). Both are rare, underserved diseases where a one-time functional cure would represent a genuine paradigm shift from current chronic management.
The key 2026 catalysts are a Phase 3 data readout for lonvo-z in HAE, expected April 27, 2026, and progress in restarting and advancing its ATTR cardiomyopathy program after the FDA lifted the clinical hold. Either could move the stock materially in either direction. NTLA is not for the faint of heart, but for investors who believe in the in vivo thesis, this is the purest expression of it.
Precision Gene Editing’s Next Frontier
Where Intellia bets on CRISPR-Cas9, Beam Therapeutics (NASDAQ: BEAM) is pioneering something more precise. Its base editing technology works like a molecular pencil—rewriting a single genetic letter rather than making a double-strand cut in DNA. The technology has the potential to answer one of the persistent safety concerns that has kept some investors away from investing in gene editing stocks.
Beam's most advanced wholly owned program, BEAM-302, targets alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (AATD), a genetic disorder affecting the lungs and liver that currently has no curative treatment.
In March 2026, the company reported positive updated Phase 1/2 data and announced plans to advance into pivotal testing in the second half of the year. Its sickle cell program, risto-cel, could see a U.S. approval filing as early as late 2026.
Beam carries more early-stage risk than CRSP and faces nearer-term funding questions given its cash runway. But its differentiated platform and proximity to pivotal data make it a name worth monitoring for investors willing to take on that risk profile in exchange for the upside that a successful readout or acquisition offer could deliver.
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The article "3 Biotech Stocks That Could Benefit from the Patent Cliff" first appeared on MarketBeat.
