"Being contrarians, we are always looking for laggard stocks with the potential to rebound," says turnaround expert George Putnam.

In his The Turnaround Letter, the advisor reviews four medical and pharmaceutical stocks that have been among the worst performers in the S&P 100 since the market bottom. Despite their poor performance, he thinks they may be due for a rebound.

"We think that investors who got left behind by the first leg of the market rally are struggling to catch up.

"How does one go about investing in the antibody space?" asks biotech specialist John McCamant. In The Medical Technology Stock Letter, he eyes Immunogen (NASDAQ: IMGN), and offers an in-depth report for biotech-savvy readers.

"As background, T-DM1 is a second generation Herceptin that may even exceed the original in sales because the armed antibody has been more potent to date by showing effectiveness in mBC patients who have failed either Herceptin or Tykerb.

"The company will continue to benefit from Genetech's extensive antibody experience as they continue to run all development for Immunogen's T-DM1.

"India-based Dr. Reddy's Laboratories (NYSE: RDY), a generic-drugs play with solid market positions in India, Russia, the US and Germany," says Asian stock expert Yiannis Mostrous.

In his specialty newsletter, The Silk Road Investor, he explains why he has chosen the firm as his latest "Stock of the month".

"Seventy percent of the firm's growth comes from generic drugs, and the trend there has been favorable. New products, market share gains and a revamp of the supply chain in India should contribute to profitability. The company is also building a proprietary pipeline to supplement it core business.

"Genomics may be the 'next big thing' after the Internet and biotech. Finding those who can make money early onwill likely pay dividends to investors," expla]in small cap growth stock specialist Jim Oberweis, Jr.

In his The Oberweis Report, he explains the "politics" behind this bullish scenario as well as his top pick for log-term investors seeking exposure to the developing healthcare technologies if genomics and personalized medicine.

"We believe that the biotech boom was a direct consequence of rising National Health Institute (NIH) funding, cheap equity capital, and the ability to patent NIH-funded discoveries. And we see that happening again.

"Illumina (NASDAQ: ILMN) makes the Genome Analyzer, which is the workhorse of the genetic medicine revolution," says growth expert Mike Cintolo in The Cabot Top Ten Report.

"The Illumina Genome Analyzer is used by genomic research centers, academic institutions, agriculture and livestock companies, pharmaceutical companies, clinical research organizations and biotechnology companies all over the world.

"In the fourth quarter of 2008, for example, the company launched the In? nium HD HumanCytoSNP-12 BeadChip, a 12 sample BeadChip priced as low as $125 per sample that enables researchers to analyze nearly 300,000 genetic markers per sample.

Despite the challenging economic environment, two leading advisors see opportunity in a biotech stock involved in developing drugs for cancer, multiple sclerosis and diabetes -- Isis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ISIS).

Here, we look at commentary from growth stock expert Toby Smith, editor of ChangeWave Investing, and biotech specialist John McCamant, editor of The Medical Technology Stock Letter.

Toby Smith explains, "For the latest quarter, revenue climbed 38% to $29.7 million. Revenue from research and development collaborations more than doubled to $29.1 million from $13 million, but licensing and royalty revenue dropped to $546,000 from $8.5 million.

This post is part of a special annual report -- Top Stock Picks '09 -- in which TheStockAdvisors.com asked 75 leading newsletter advisors to select their favorite investment for the new year.

"Biogen Idec (NASDAQ: BIIB) -- which has a highly effective though risky treatment for multiple sclerosis called Tysabri -- is our top pick for 2009," says analyst Richard Moroney.

The editor of Dow Theory Forecasts, an advisory that has been published for more than 50 years, explains, "Despite superior growth prospects, the Tysabri concerns have kept Biogen's shares under pressure.

"In the past two months, consensus profit estimates have crept upwards for Biogen Idec. Per-share profits are expected to climb 33% in 2008 and 9% in 2009. Over the next five years, profits are expected to climb 12% annually. Two factors support this outlook.

"First, Biogen plows nearly a third of its revenue into research and development, raising expectations of a fertile lineup of new drugs. Second, there's Tysabri, a highly effective though risky treatment for multiple sclerosis.

This post is part of a special annual report -- Top Stock Picks '09 -- in which TheStockAdvisors.com asked 75 leading newsletter advisors to select their favorite investment for the new year.

"We're not bullish on stocks until we see an improving economy; but if I had to choose a top pick for 2009, I have no problems choosing Pfizer (NYSE: PFE)," says Alan Newman in CrossCurrents.

"Given a lousy environment for stocks in the last half of 2008 and what appears to be the same going forward for the year ahead, the only logical course is to choose a company that pays a generous dividend.

"That will reward us for whatever patience will be required for our investment holding period. Thus, Pfizer, with its hefty 7.5% yield, makes good sense.

"In a bear market such as now, there are always minuses to consider. Pfizer has recently announced that, for the first time in 40 years, they are not raising their dividend.

"As well, Lipitor is the company's most successful product and it will lose patent protection just a couple of years down the road. Furthermore, there does not seem to be any blockbusters in the pipeline to replace Lipitor's $13 billion in sales.

"Long-term, Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ: GILD) is the best life sciences company on the planet," says biotechnology specialist Michael Shulman in The ChangeWave Biotech Investor.

"Auto sales may plunge, home sales may stay in the tank and retail sales may fall, but disease, old age and human frailty are undeniably 'forever.'

"While the economy in 2009 is almost certainly going to contract, analysts expect the sale of biologic drugs and other life sciences products to increase 12%-15% -- with some winners growing much faster.

"The winners will be rewarded, even in a bear market. In the past year, Gilead has outperformed the Nasdaq by more than 30 percentage points -- and it's doing it as a mature biotech.

"WuXi PharmaTech (Cayman) Inc. (NYSE: WX) provides laboratory and manufacturing services for the drug and medical device R&D process," notes China stock specialist Jim Trippon.

In his The China Stock Digest, he explains, "Because Chinese researchers receive much smaller paychecks than their Western counterparts, Shanghai-based WuXi is able to lower the cost of this research." Here's his review.

"We have often heard major Western pharmaceutical companies complain of the extraordinary cost of discovering and developing drugs.

"More costly than the laboratory infrastructure is the burden of paying for armies of highly trained, highly paid chemists, researchers, analysts and physicians. WuXi has become the secret weapon of many big name global pharmaceutical companies.

"China educates tens of thousands of engineers, chemists and technologists, and outsourcing that expertise has become a growth industry. WuXi became a leader in this trend in 2000 and has gone on to attract an impressive roster of clients.

"The firm's senior management team consists of Ph.D.s and MBAs with experience in drug and medical device R&D. Wuxi management has more than 200 patents pending or granted, and has published more than 800 scientific publications.