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Posts by: Ray Blanco

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Ray Blanco

While other eighth graders were out playing soccer, Ray Blanco was in his basement learning how to build what’s called a “Wilson Cloud Chamber” – a supercooled device for detecting particles of ionizing radiation. Now, he is an expert in advanced robotics, avionics, genomics, and biotechnology. Blanco was raised in Miami, FL, after his family fled Cuba in the 1960s. He is co-editor of Technology Profits Confidential and contributes to Breakthrough Technology Alert and Penny Sleuth.

  1. Technology Profits Confidential

    Vertex Stuns the World With New Clinical Data • May 11, 2012

    Brick by brick, the scientists and management at Vertex Pharmaceuticals are building a biotechnology powerhouse. Last year, Vertex laid the foundation with the first new hepatitis C therapy in over a decade. Incivek now dominates the market for this hard-to-cure, liver-destroying virus.Compared with previous care standards, Vertex’s drug boosts cure rates by 50% while halving the amount of time patients need to receive therapy — which is a very tough regimen. In the process, Vertex has been transformed from a company with nearly no revenues to one earning well over $1 billion a year.…Read more…

  2. Technology Profits Confidential

    The Best Scientists The Biggest Breakthroughs: America’s Medical Technology Revolution • May 11, 2012

    To borrow a phrase from those who think the world is running out of oil, Big Pharma is facing the consequences of “peak discovery.” The large players are all succumbing to a similar disease: patent expirations. At the same time, shrinking in-house pipelines mean that the Big Pharmas are without sufficient new products to replace the ones they will lose to generics. It is notable that only a fraction of FDA decisions for 2011 will go to the behemoths……Read more…

  3. Technology Profits Confidential

    American Revival: Epic Wealth And New Opportunity From 3 Amazing Technologies • May 11, 2012

    Just a few years ago, one major social networking site received $500,000 in venture “seed money” from the geniuses behind Pay Pal. One of these forward-thinkers made a small $40,000 commitment that today is valued at over $375 million.In a way, you’re in a venture capitalist’s shoes today with the opportunities I’m about to show you. But even better, you have a chance to lock in a lifetime of profits for far, far less than what venture capitalists shell out……Read more…

  4. Technology Profits Confidential

    Atmel on Sale, Plus an Update From Latest Trip • May 4, 2012

    The market is taking a beating as I write, with the Nasdaq Composite down over 1%. Weak jobs numbers are stoking fears and tugging down stocks with a rope. At the same time, hopes of a new round of monetary easing are tugging at the other end of the rope. Instead of being driven by fundamentals, many stocks are trading on speculation of when a bunch of bureaucrats will print more money. Investors are acting more and more like traders, placing their bets with increasingly short time horizons.…Read more…

  5. Daily Reckoning

    Credit Cards, An Endangered Species • May 3, 2012

    Previously, mobile phones have helped us satisfy our need to communicate. Now, however, they are beginning to satisfy the need to engage in commerce by providing a convenient means of exchange. Smartphones are becoming a tool to accomplish what has previously required the use of cash, checks or credit cards. Unlike a piece of plastic …Read more…

  6. Technology Profits Confidential

    A Company With the Midas Touch • May 1, 2012

    This month, I have a company with a technology in an explosive growth phase. It is the leading provider of a technology that is in nearly every popular mobile device in the world today. It is also innovating new products that will expand its presence into new, fast-growing markets. I believe investing in it now will generate market-beating returns in the years ahead.
    Last summer, I wrote about a new generation of display technology. Called OLED (organic light-emitting diode), display screens using it offer far greater energy efficiency, along with brilliant colors and durability.…Read more…

  7. Technology Profits Confidential

    Temporary Weakness Sets up Future Returns • April 26, 2012

    I’m getting set for a long drive out of town with Patrick to get the scoop on what’s going on at the Roskmap Institute’s laboratories. Roskamp’s focus is on diseases of the brain and inflammation-related diseases of aging. One compound under study at the institute is anatabine. Anatabine is a compound found in solanaceous plants like peppers, tomatoes and tobacco. It is already showing evidence of powerful effects in Alzheimer’s disease in peer-reviewed research. It is also demonstrating a powerful anti- inflammatory effect. Time is short, so I’ll keep this update brief.…Read more…