 Over the past 12 months, the Nasdaq Biotech Index NBI has kept up with the broader market, slightly outpacing the SP; 500, until the last few months.Certainly 2019 has been a bumpy ride. But it looks like the sector, especially thank to its larger firms, is finally hitting its stride. The index is rising and a growing number of mergers over the past couple years are starting to pay off.There are some amazing new technologies that are finally gaining traction on the medication side, which includes a long journey through U.S. Food and Drug Administration trials. It usually takes about 10 years and costs around 2 billion to get a drug through trials these days.InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice Trading TipsThats a lot of commitment. And during that time, you need to develop a strong pipeline for future growth. 7 Entertainment Stocks to Buy to Escape Holiday Blues At Growth Investor, we are focused on pure biotech stocks, not big pharma. These seven big biotech companies are driving cutting-edge therapies. These names are either currently thriving or well positioned for buyouts that would come with big premiums. Biotech Stocks to Buy: Galapagos GLPGSource: Shutterstock Galapagos NASDAQ:GLPG is a perfect example of the new wave in biotech. It uses adenoviruses -- viruses that usually cause respiratory illnesses -- to introduce human gene sequences to help or prevent certain proteins from multiplying.The formations of proteins play a critical role in a number of diseases, including cancer. They are also key in autoimmune diseases. And GLPG focuses on the latter.It has four drugs in clinical trials currently, and two of those are in Phase 3 trials. That is encouraging, since it is usually moving into Phase 3 trials where many drugs fall short.The stock is up a whopping 94 this year as trial results are driving price, yet its trailing price-to-earnings ratio is 38. It has a 12 billion market capitalization, so its well funded. China Biologic Products CBPOSource: Shutterstock China Biologic Products NASDAQ:CBPO is one of Chinas leading biotech companies. Its work isnt fancy, but its functional. And in a population of 1.4 billion people, high-quality drugs represent a huge step forward.China is very focused on developing its pharmaceutical and healthcare industry instead of relying on the U.S or Europe to sell it medicines. But this is a huge undertaking to start from nearly scratch.CBPO is one of the first to do it. Its not making cutting-edge drugs and doing breakthrough research -- its focused on plasma-based biopharmaceutical products. These are fundamental for treatment of immune system disorders, epidemic diseases and disaster relief. 10 Cheap Stocks to Buy Under 10 It gained a lot of attention last year when a consortium offered nearly 4 billion for the company. Its current market cap is 4.5 billion and the stock is up 54 year-to-date. Thats the kind of momentum I like to see at Growth Investor, and theres still plenty of headroom here. Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals ARWRSource: Shutterstock Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals NASDAQ:ARWR works on novel drugs for intractable diseases. And that about sums up its focus.Right now, it has nine drugs in trials. Two of them are in Phase 3. One is for liver disease and the other for Hepatitis B. Most of its other drugs are focused on diseases affecting the liver. It also has one in trial for lung cancer and another for renal cell carcinoma.It is focused on using RNAi, or RNA interference, to prevent cells from expressing a specific gene, usually a gene linked to a disease. RNAi has been around for a long time, and ARWR has been around since 1989. But its now coming into its own, as technologies have grown up around it.The stock is up a staggering 432 year-to-date, due to its own work and the interest that big pharma is now taking in the sector. With a 6.3 billion market cap, it would be an easy buy for a big firm looking to acquire a solid pipeline of RNAi drugs. Acadia Pharmaceuticals ACADSource: Shutterstock Acadia Pharmaceuticals NASDAQ:ACAD focuses on central nervous system disorders. These range from schizophrenia to Parkinsons to major depressive disorder.It actually has a drug in the market. In 2016 Nuplazid was launched to help manage the hallucinations and disorientation sometimes experienced by Parkinsons patients. Second-quarter sales were 83 million, up 46 from the same quarter a year ago. Thats more than 300 million a year, and growing.It has another drug that is wrapping up Phase 3 trials and is targeted at dementia-related psychosis. Yet another drug is halfway through Phase 3 trials focused on providing an adjunctive therapy for major depressive disorder.This firm isnt just about the future, its succeeding in the market right now. And in a unique niche, no less. This niche will continue to grow as boomers age, so demographics are also on its side. Thats the kind of growth potential I demand from stocks in any industry. 9 Tantalizing Dividend Stocks for 2020 ACAD stock is up 182 year-to-date and with a 7 billion market cap, its still the early days. Spark Therapeutics ONCESource: Shutterstock Spark Therapeutics NASDAQ:ONCE is a gene therapy company that focuses on genetic diseases including blindness, hemophilia and neurodegenerative conditions.These can be good areas for a relatively young gene company to plant its flag, because they arent usually filled with as much competition. That also means that during drug trials, its efficacies dont have to meet as high standards.ONCE just launched its first drug this year, Luxturna, for inherited retinal dystrophy, which ultimately leads to blindness. Sales and results have been positive. The company also has a licensing and development deal with Pfizer NYSE:PFE for a drug targeting hemophilia. And Novartis NYSE:NVS has control of European marketing for Luxturna.The stock is up 184 year-to-date and has a bright future if it can keep delivering. Zai Lab ZLABSource: Shutterstock Zai Lab NASDAQ:ZLAB is a Chinese biotech that launched in 2014. But today, it has a 2.6 billion market cap. Thats some pretty fast growth.Part of the reason is that Incyte Pharmaceuticals NASDAQ:INCY, maker of the rheumatoid arthritis drug Jakafi, has become an investor. This partnership allows INCY to market its drug in China and gives ZLAB access to the U.S. market. At Growth Investor, we invest with an eye on macroeconomic trends, and these are the two markets exhibiting the strongest growth.Their product lines overlap as well, which has some strategic advantages. Both have products in autoimmune diseases, and ZLAB also is doing work in cancer and infectious diseases.ZLAB has 16 drugs in Phase 3 trials, with one, Optune, ready for market in Hong Kong. Its massive pipeline is especially attractive for a firm like INCY when looking at marketing some of these in the U.S. market. 7 Top Stocks to Buy for 2020 The stock is up 73 year-to-date and could be a sleeping giant, if all unfolds according to plan. Natera NTRASource: Shutterstock Natera NASDAQ:NTRA isnt a typical biotech in the sense that it develops drugs.Its niche is genetic testing. While you may think that begins and ends with prenatal testing for hereditary disorders and the like, the fact is, thats just the beginning.It can run testing on cancers so that oncologists can get an exact description of the cancer. Today, there are gene therapies and immuno-oncology therapies that can be used to help certain cancer patients. And that list is growing. Also, recurrence monitoring and treatment monitoring are much more targeted and accurate.Also, genetic testing can help make sure that transplants are more successful. For insurers and hospitals as well as patients of course, a clean transplant means no issues with tissue rejection, infection or longer hospital stays.It might not have a sexy silver bullet in this sector, but it does have a great reputation.The stock is up 155 year-to-date. And given the lack of drama in the stock, its big growth could keep on going as long as the population continues to gray.All this gives you an idea of why these stocks rate so highly in my Portfolio Grader tool. And Ive got more where that came from. Theres a bigger, deeper tech trend going on that Im even more excited about. The Mother of All TechnologiesUp until now, technologies have certainly made our lives easier and more efficient ... but with a lot of room for human error. People trip over cords, spill their coffee and get tired.Artificial intelligence does not.If that sounds futuristic, well then, the future is already here. If you use apps like Netflix NASDAQ:NFLX, TurboTax, QuickBooks, Zillow NASDAQ:Z or even an email spam filter, then AI is already helping your day run more smoothly. And as scientists find even more applications for artificial intelligence -- from healthcare to retail to self-driving cars -- its incredible to imagine how much data will be involved.To create AI programs in the first place, tech companies must collect vast amounts of data on human decisions. Data is what powers every AI system.So any one company that can help with customers data issues is the one company thats most worth investing in.You dont need to be an expert to take part. Ill tell you everything you need to know, as well as my buy recommendation, in Growth Investor. My No. 1 stock for the AI trend is still under my buy limit price -- so youll want to sign up now. Get in while its still cheap.Click here for a free briefing on this groundbreaking innovation.Louis Navellier had an unconventional start, as a grad student who accidentally built a market-beating stock system -- with returns rivaling even Warren Buffett. 