The NASDAQ Biotechnology Index (INDEXNASDAQ:NBI) was in the green last week, soaring from 3,322.49 points on Monday’s (October 28) open to reach 3,442.25 points as of 1:28 p.m. EDT on Friday (November 1), representing a 3.35 percent increase during the week.

On Wednesday (October 30), share of Cyclerion Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CYCN) crumbled nearly 80 percent after the company revealed that two of its Phase 2 studies of praliciguat did not meet their primary endpoints.

Earlier in the week, Surmodics (NASDAQ:SRDX) announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted the company breakthrough device status for its Sundance sirolimus-coated balloon (SCB) catheter, which resulted in a 1.33 percent share price increase during Tuesday’s (October 29) trading session.

In terms of top performing stocks during last week’s trading period, the five top gainers were as follows:

• IVERIC bio (NASDAQ:ISEE)
• Elox Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ELOX)
• Arbutus Biopharma (NASDAQ:ABUS)
• Bellicum Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:BLCM)
• Foamix Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:FOMX)

Here’s a closer look at those companies and what may have moved their share prices.

IVERIC bio

IVERIC bio is a company working on treatments for eye diseases that have unmet clinical needs. The company has two main products in its pipeline: Zimura for dry age-related macular degeneration and Stargardt disease and its HTrA1 inhibitor for dry age-related macular degeneration and geographic atrophy.

The company started off the week with a bang when it announced on Monday (October 28) that Zimura met its primary endpoint in a Phase 2b clinical trial in geographic atrophy secondary to dry age-related macular degeneration. Shares of IVERIC bio were up an impressive 350.32 percent last week to US$3.92 as of 3:06 p.m. EDT on Friday.

Elox Pharmaceuticals

Elox Pharmaceuticals develops therapies for rare and ultra-rare premature stop codon diseases, which are mutations that can lead to loss of protein function and reduction in mRNA levels.

The company’s lead product candidate is ELX-02, which is currently in the clinic for patients with cystic fibrosis and nephropathic cystinosis diagnosed with nonsense mutations.

On Thursday (October 31), the company announced it had presented positive data for ELX-02 at the North American Cystic Fibrosis Conference, highlighting that the drug will now advance into Phase 2 clinical trials. Over the week, shares of Elox Pharmaceuticals were up 114.03 percent to US$6.59 as of 3:15 p.m. EDT on Friday.

Arbutus Biopharma

Arbutus Biopharma’s area of focus is on developing treatments for patients with chronic hepatitis B infection. The company has a range of products in its pipeline in different stages of development.

While the company didn’t have any pivotal updates last week, it did announce on Wednesday (October 30) that it will report its Q3 financial result on November 6.

Shares of the company were up 61.36 percent last week to reach US$1.43 as of 3:23 p.m. EDT on Friday.

Bellicum Pharmaceuticals

Bellicum Pharmaceuticals is a company working on developing cures using controllable cell therapies. Its lead product candidate in its GoCAR-T pipeline is BPX-601, which is intended to be a CAR-T cell product for immune inhibitory methods.

The company announced on Thursday that it will be presenting at the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer Annual Meeting, which will take place from November 6 to 10. Shares of Bellicum Pharmaceuticals were up 39.78 percent last week to US$1.09 as of 3:49 p.m. EDT on Friday.

Foamix Pharmaceuticals

Foamix Pharmaceuticals is a company developing dermatology products. The company’s Amzeeq product is the first FDA-approved topical minocycline product.

Other products in its pipeline includes FMX103, which has been indicated for papulopustular rosacea in patients over the age of 18. A new drug application was submitted to the FDA in August.

On Friday, the company said it will be reporting its Q3 2019 financial results on November 11.

Shares of Foamix Pharmaceuticals were up 36.87 percent last week to US$3.90 as of 3:57 p.m. EDT on Friday.

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

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