5 Top Weekly NASDAQ Biotech Stocks: Synergy on Top

Over the past trading week, the NASDAQ Biotechnology Index (INDEXNASDAQ:NBI) decreased 1.08 percent to reach 3,415.39 points as of 1:00 p.m. EST on Friday (January 25).

Acerus Pharmaceuticals (TSX:ASP) received a notice from Health Canada its in-licensed product Gynoflor received a notice of deficiency withdrawal letter. Edward Gudaitis, CEO of Acerus, said the company is disappointed with Health Canada’s decision and is seeking additional information from the licensor Medinova AG.

Earlier in the trading week, Incyte (NASDAQ:INCY) treated the first patient in the GRAVITAS-309 Phase 3 trial to treat chronic graft-versus-host-disease. According to the press release, the prevalence of the disease in the US, Europe and Japan is estimated to be approximately 25,000 patients.

Against that backdrop, a number of NASDAQ biotech stocks saw significant share price increases last week. The five top gainers are as follows:

• Synergy Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:SGYP)
• Alpine Immune Sciences (NASDAQ:ALPN)
• Aerpio Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ARPO)
• Correvio Pharma (NASDAQ:CORV)
• Athersys (NASDAQ:ATHX)

Here’s a closer look at those companies and what moved their share prices. Share prices are quoted in US dollars and were current as of 1:00 p.m. EST on Friday.

Synergy Pharmaceuticals

First on the weekly NASDAQ biotech stocks list is Synergy Pharmaceuticals, which is focused on developing and commercializing gastrointestinal therapies. Back in December, the company filed for bankruptcy and announced that Bausch Health companies would acquire its assets. In a new development on January 17, the company is seeking a court order to hire more executives for a better result at its upcoming bankruptcy auction. This may have been the news that triggered its share price increase.

Over the trading period, Synergy’s share price increased 43.13 percent to reach $0.40.

Alpine Immune Sciences

Alpine Immune announced a $25 million private placement on January 16, which may have contributed to its share price increase last week. The company intends to use the proceeds from these funds for developing its lead program ALPN-101 in autoimmune and inflammatory indications and ALPN-202 in cancer, according to the press release.

The company’s share price increased 31.14 percent over the trading period to $7.08. The company is working on multifunctional immunotherapies for the two indications mentioned. These are in the form of a dual antagonist and T cell co stimulator.

Aerpio Pharmaceuticals

Landing middle of our, weekly NASDAQ biotech stocks list is Aerpio Pharmaceuticals. Last week, its share price increased by 30.72 percent to $4. The company is developing multiple drug candidates in multiple divisions such as diabetic retinopathy. For this indication, Aerpio announced on January 17 it completed dosing in the TIME-2b study of AKB-9778. The trial lasted 48 weeks and top-line data is expected in March 2019.

This aligns with Aerpio’s overall focus of compounds that activate Tie2 to treat ocular diseases and complications of diabetes.

Correvio Pharma

Landing fourth on the list last week is Correvio Pharma. The company’s share price increased 26.13 percent to reach $3.62. On January 17, Correvio released an update on a market offering, announcing the sale of all common shares under its ATM Prospectus Supplement.

Correvio is a specialty pharmaceutical company which focuses on bringing hospital drugs to Canada through acquisitions. The company has over five marketed drugs that are currently generating revenue. Another product in its pipeline is Trevyent, which is a drug device combination designed to deliver treprostinil.

Athersys

Last on our weekly NASDAQ biotech stocks list is Athersys which had a 23.40 percent share price increase to $1.74. The company is based on developing its MultiStem cell therapy product, which is an off-the-shelf stem cell product focused on neurological, cardiovascular, inflammatory, immune and other indications.

Last week, the company released positive results from its exploratory clinical study for the MultiStem cell therapy for acute respiratory distress syndrome. They were a lower mortality rate, high amount of ventilator-free days, higher amount of ICE-free days and more.

Don’t forget to follow us at @INN_LifeScience for real-time updates!

Data for 5 Top Weekly NASDAQ Biotech Stocks articles is retrieved each Friday at 1:00 p.m. EST using TradingView’s Stock Screener. Only companies with a market capitalization greater than $50 million and lower than $500 million prior to the week’s gains are included. Companies within the biotechnology and pharmaceutical sectors are considered.

Securities Disclosure: I, Gabrielle Lakusta, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

***This article is updated weekly. Scroll to the top for the most recent information.***

5 Top Weekly NASDAQ Biotech Stocks: Correvio Leads for the Week

Published January 20, 2019 by Gabrielle Lakusta

Over the past trading week, the NASDAQ Biotechnology Index (INDEXNASDAQ:NBI) increased 1.78 percent to reach 3,472.52 points as of 1:00 p.m. EST on Friday (January 18).

Last week was full of both positive and negative biotech news. Starting off with Immunomedics (NASDAQ:IMMU), the company received a complete response letter from the US Food and Drug Administration for its biologics license application for sacituzumab of triple-negative breast cancer.

The CEO and president of Immunomedics believes the drug has potential as a treatment option for patients, and thinks the issue is related to chemistry, manufacturing and control matters of the drug.

On a more positive note, Pain Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTIE) was awarded US$1.5 million in research funding from the National Institutes of Health. The grant is meant to be for the company’s research of an Alzheimer’s disease blood test over the next 18 months.

Against that backdrop, a number of NASDAQ biotech stocks saw significant share price increases last week. The five top gainers are as follows:

• Correvio Pharma (NASDAQ:CORV)
• Synergy Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:SGYP)
• Vaccinex (NASDAQ:VCNX)
• Cerecor (NASDAQ:CERC)
• Nymox (NASDAQ:NYMX)

Here’s a closer look at those companies and what moved their share prices. Share prices are quoted in US dollars and were current as of 1:00 p.m. EST on Friday.

Correvio Pharma

Taking the top spot on our weekly NASDAQ biotech stocks list is Correvio Pharma. The company’s share price increased 48.37 percent to reach $3.19. Over the trading period, Correvio released an update on a market offering, announcing the sale of all common shares under its ATM Prospectus Supplement.

Correvio is a specialty pharmaceutical company aimed at bringing hospital drugs to Canada through acquisitions. The company has over five marketed drugs that are currently generating revenue. Another product in its pipeline is Trevyent, which is a drug device combination designed to deliver treprostinil.

Synergy Pharmaceuticals

Next on the list is Synergy Pharmaceuticals, which is focused on developing and commercializing gastrointestinal therapies. Back in December, the company filed for bankruptcy and announced that Bausch Health companies would acquire its assets. In a new development this past week, the company is seeking a court order to hire more executives for a better result at its upcoming bankruptcy auction. This may have been the news that triggered its share price increase.

Over the trading period, Synergy’s share price increased 38.49 percent to reach $0.27.

Vaccinex

Vaccinex lands in the middle of our weekly NASDAQ biotech stocks list with a 34.62-percent share price increase to $5.25. The company is developing drugs for serious diseases, including cancer, neurodegenerative diseases and autoimmune diseases. VX15 is its lead product candidate and is in development to treat non-small-cell lung cancer, osteosarcoma, melanoma and Huntington’s disease.

This past week, Vaccinex presented previously disclosed data from an ongoing Phase 1/2 trial of VX15 for Huntington’s disease, called SIGNAL. The information was presented at the Cambridge Healthtech Institute’s 18th annual PepTalk.

Cerecor

Cerecor lands fourth on our list for the past week. The company has a focus on developing therapies for neurological and psychiatric disorders. CERC-301 is in development for major depressive disorder (MDD), while CERC-501 is in development for substance use disorders and adjunctive treatment of MDD; CERC-406 is in development for treatment of cognitive impairment.

Last Wednesday (January 16), the company announced that three of its substrate replacement therapies have received Orphan Drug Designation for Congenital Disorders of Glycosylation. Over the period, the company’s share price increased 30.51 percent to $5.09.

Nymox

Last on our weekly NASDAQ biotech stocks list is Nymox with a 25.95-percent share price increase to $2.33. The company is working on developing a single drug candidate, NX-1207, as a proprietary treatment for enlarged prostate or benign prostatic hyperplasia. In addition to this the company has two test products. One is used to determine a person’s smoking status and another is a home test to prove a person’s level of tobacco exposure.

This past week, the company released a peer-reviewed journal article on progress in the development of Fexapotide Triflutate, or NX-1207.

Don’t forget to follow us at @INN_LifeScience for real-time updates!

Data for 5 Top Weekly NASDAQ Biotech Stocks articles is retrieved each Friday at 1:00 p.m. EST using TradingView’s Stock Screener. Only companies with a market capitalization greater than $50 million and lower than $500 million prior to the week’s gains are included. Companies within the biotechnology and pharmaceutical sectors are considered.

Securities Disclosure: I, Gabrielle Lakusta, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.