Antares Pharma: Just what the doctor ordered?

Known on Wall Street as Big Pharma, multibillion-dollar companies such as Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE), Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE: MRK) and Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE: BMY) dominate the prescription drug market. But a compelling argument can be made for investing in the biotechnology sector, since biotechs have consistently outperformed the pill companies for the past few years.

While Amgen Inc. (Nasdaq: AMGN) and Genentech Inc. (NYSE: DNA), biotech's biggest names, have fallen on hard times (Amgen's stock has plunged 26% from its January high while Genentech's shares are off 14%), some smaller biotech companies hold promise., some smaller biotech companies hold promise.

One such micro-cap is Antares Pharma, Inc. (AMEX: AIS), a $90 million specialized pharmaceutical company with patented drug delivery platforms including Advanced Transdermal Delivery gels (medications—hormones or other active ingredients—that are applied to the surface of the skin in gel form), reusable needle-free injection systems, disposable mini-needle injection systems and fast-melt oral tablets. In the face of direct competitive pressures from companies developing transdermal gels such as NexMed, Inc. (Nasdaq: NEXM), Bentley Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NYSE: BNT) and Novavax, Inc. (Nasdaq: NVAX), and players like Bioject Medical Technologies Inc. (Nasdaq: BJCT), which produces needle-free injection systems, Antares has flourished.

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