In partnership with Trading Whisperer

An opportunity is found in the stock market when you discover a company with a competitive moat. That’s how Warren Buffett always invested, and it’s a solid guiding principle to go by. 

Competitive moats can be hard to find, but one place where they may appear is in the biotech industry. And we may have one of those companies for you to consider today.

The company is Cardiol Therapeutics $CRDL, and they are focused on understanding how inflammation and fibrosis contribute to diseases of the heart and developing therapies, now in late-stage clinical trials, that target these health issues.

What you need to know: Pericarditis is a heart inflammation disease that causes consistent pain, frequent hospital visits, and constant possibility of recurrence. Current revenue for immunosuppressant recurrent pericarditis therapy in the United States is >$600 million, and based on current revenue guidance, analysts’ forecast >$1 billion by 2028. If approved by the FDA, Cardiol Therapeutics could bring major competition to the treatment market in terms of affordability, safety, and simplicity.

When you’re evaluating a stock, sometimes it’s helpful to look at what competitors’ share prices did after getting regulatory approval for their products. CRDL’s only major competitor is Kiniksa, the sole provider of a FDA-approved recurrent pericarditis treatment on the market. 

So, what happened to Kiniksa’s stock after its treatment got approved?

Kiniksa’s stock price has soared after its rilonacept was approved, with its market cap growing from $1.2 billion to $2.63 billion.

Rilonacept also costs over $286,000 a year. CRDL’s treatment, CardiolRx™, will be cheaper for patients.

That begs the question, where does Cardiol Therapeutics’ market cap sit today, and where could it go from here? $120 million. CRDL has a fraction of Kiniksa’s old valuation, but its therapy is intended to treat the same condition, recurrent pericarditis, in a cheaper and safer way. 

But, as you know, you can’t predict what’s going to happen with an opportunity like this. All you can do is look at the signals that the market is giving. It’s important to think critically: 

Yes, to all three:

Another question to ask with biotech companies is whether the financials make sense for a treatment like this. Is the demand there, and could treatment for pericarditis actually be profitable?

Again, let’s turn to Kiniksa’s treatment and look at the data. Kiniksa’s pericarditis treatment is called rilonacept, and it costs over $280,000 a year. It also suppresses patients’ immune systems, which can lead to complications.

But despite costing more than an Aston Martin each year, demand for rilonacept is growing. The market for its therapy is expected to grow to $600 million this year, and to reach $1 billion by 2028 alone.

Another key piece of data: rilonacept has already reached $1 billion in cumulative sales since its launch for recurrent pericarditis in 2021, despite only 5.5% of the 38,000 patients with recurrent pericarditis being on treatment as of Q2 2025 in the US. What happens if there’s a cheaper alternative on the market that’s has a better safety profile than rilonacept? Not only might some of those existing 5.5% of patients switch over to CardiolRx™, but its lower cost could increase demand outright, opening the door for net new patients. If CRDL’s therapy is fully approved, that’s the situation we could be looking at. 

The final piece of information to consider is that CardiolRx™ isn’t just intended to treat pericarditis. It’s also being tested as a treatment for acute myocarditis.

Background: Acute myocarditis remains one of the leading causes of sudden cardiac death in young people under 35 and can lead to heart failure. Patients face hospital stays of up to 7 days, a 6% mortality risk, and costs exceeding $110,000 per stay. But there are no FDA-approved therapies indicated for the treatment of acute myocarditis.

The study: CRDL enrolled 109 patients at 34 clinical sites in the US, France, Brazil, and Israel to test CardiolRx™ for myocarditis. And the trial design was randomized, double-blind, and placebo-controlled, the FDA’s preferred framework.

The trial was designed to assess the impact of CardiolRx™ on key indicators used to predict the course of the disease in both myocarditis and heart failure patients. Results showed that CardiolRx™ improved these parameters that measure heart structure and function, which represents exciting first in human (“clinical proof of concept”) evidence and justify the continued development of Cardiol’s second cannabidiol therapeutic product—CRD-38—for the mass market of heart failure.

So, in summary, Cardiol Therapeutics has results from two clinical trials for rare heart diseases, an ongoing late-stage Phase III trial, a novel product in development for heart failure, and the company is at a market cap of $128 million. That’s rare.

Analysts and institutional buyers have done their research, and many have landed on a “buy” for CRDL.

You should do your own research about the specific trials, data, and market signals on CRDL to decide for yourself. You can read a full free report on the company here:

Examples that we provide of share price increases pertaining to a particular Issuer from one referenced date to another represent an arbitrarily chosen time period and are no indication whatsoever of future stock prices for that Issuer and are of no predictive value. Our stock profiles are intended to highlight certain companies for YOUR further investigation; they are NOT stock recommendations or constitute an offer or sale of the referenced securities.

The information provided in Stocks & Income is for informational and educational purposes only and should not be construed as financial advice, investment advice, or a recommendation to buy or sell any securities. Stocks & Income is not a registered investment advisor, broker-dealer, or licensed financial planner. Always do your own research and consult with a licensed financial advisor before making any investment decisions. We may hold positions in or receive compensation from the companies or products mentioned. Disclosures will be made where applicable.