5 Top Weekly NASDAQ Biotech and Pharma Stocks: Sunesis Up 31 Percent

The NASDAQ Biotechnology Index (INDEXNASDAQ:NBI) took a steep hit last week, crashing from 3,422.32 points on Monday’s (July 8) open to 3,315.46 points as of 1:32 p.m. EDT on Friday (July 12).

A likely catalyst for the index’s crash was US President Donald Trump’s pledge the previous Friday (July 5) that an executive order on drug pricing is on its way.

Even so, a number of biotech and pharma stocks were still on the rise last week, including:

• Sunesis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:SNSS)
• Curis (NASDAQ:CRIS)
• HOOKIPA Pharma (NASDAQ:HOOK)
• Nymox Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:NYMX)
• Urovant Sciences (NASDAQ:UROV)

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

Sunesis Pharmaceuticals

Sunesis Pharmaceuticals’ area of focus is developing products for hematologic and solid cancers. The company is primarily engaged with its kinase inhibitor pipeline in addition to its oral non-covalent BTK inhibitor, vecabrutinib. Vecabrutinib is currently being tested in adults with chronic lymphocytic leukemia and other B-cell malignancies in a Phase 1b/2 study.

On Thursday (July 11), Sunesis announced the pricing of a public offering worth US$25 million. Over the week, its shares increased 31.46 percent to US$0.84 as of 2:15 p.m. EDT on Friday.

Curis

Curis is working on products to treat cancer, including its drug fimepinostat. The drug is currently being evaluated in clinical studies in patients with solid tumors and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.

Last week, Curis had no announcements, but its share price had still increased 24.03 percent to US$2.26 as of 2:12 p.m. EDT on Friday.

HOOKIPA Pharma

HOOKIPA Pharma’s products are geared towards infectious diseases and cancers derived from its TheraT arenavirus platform.

The company announced on Thursday that the US Food and Drug Administration has cleared its investigational new drug application for a Phase 1/2 clinical trial of HB-201 to treat human papillomavirus (HPV)-positive cancers.

Shares of HOOKIPA Pharma responded positively to the news, increasing 21.53 percent to US$7.97 as of 2:36 p.m. EDT on Friday.

Nymox Pharmaceuticals

Nymox Pharmaceuticals is developing products intended for the unmet medical needs of the aging male population.

The company’s lead product candidate, fexapotide triflutate, is currently in Phase 3 trials in men with benign prostatic hyperplasia, which is the enlargement of the prostate.

Last week, Nymox Pharmaceuticals had no major news announcements. Despite this, its share price increased 20.83 percent to US$1.77 as of 2:48 p.m. EDT on Friday.

Urovant Sciences

Urovant Sciences’ area of focus is in urology. The company’s lead product is vibegron, which is in development for the treatment of overactive bladders in men with benign prostatic hyperplasia and irritable bowel syndrome pain.

Similar to other companies on the list, Urovant Sciences had no major announcements last week that could explain its share price increase. Over the five day trading period, shares of Urovant Sciences rose 18.23 percent to US$9.24 as of 2:54 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$15 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.