3 Top Pharma Stocks on the TSX Year-to-Date

The Canadian pharmaceutical industry has been on a steady incline over the past several years thanks to developments in medicine and exciting new opportunities, according to a 2018 report from Research and Markets.

Research firm Global Data estimates that the industry will grow from US$22.6 billion in 2016 to roughly US$25 billion by 2021 for a compound annual growth rate of 2 percent.

While that growth might be somewhat slow, the Canadian pharmaceutical market is the 10th largest in the world and accounts for 2 percent of the global market. With a population that’s roughly 36 million, Canada’s pharmaceutical market share is profound.

The halfway mark of the year presents an opportunity to reflect back on the top performing pharmaceutical stocks year-to-date on the TSX.

The list below was compiled using TradingView’s stock screener, with all numbers current as of July 9, 2019. Companies on this list had market caps between C$10 million and C$500 million at that time.

1. Bellus Health (TSX:BLU)

Market cap: C$464.39 million; current share price: C$2.94; year-to-date gain: 188.24 percent

Bellus Health is focused on developing treatments for chronic coughs and related hypersensitization disorders, described as conditions resulting from overreactions of the immune system.

The company is advancing the development of its drug candidate BLU-5937, which is indicated to treat chronic coughing conditions. At the start of Q2, the company announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had cleared its investigational new drug application for its BLU-5937 Phase 2 study of patients with chronic coughs in the US.

At the American Thoracic Society International Conference in May, Bellus Health presented Phase 1 data for BLU-5937, explaining that it has proven to be safe and tolerable among patients.

2. Crescita Therapeutics (TSX:CTX)

Market cap: C$18.49 million; current share price: C$0.88; year-to-date gain: 97.75 percent

Crestica Therapeutics is a company in the field of dermatology that is working on a range of non-prescription skincare treatments.

In its pipeline are three products: Mical (1) for psoriasis, Mical (2) for dermatological skin treatments and flexicaine, a local anesthesia for cosmetic procedures.

The company announced in late April that it had entered a license agreement with Cantabria Labs, which will sell and distribute Crescita Therapeutics’ Pliaglis in four European countries. Pliaglis is a topical cream used for superficial dermatological and cosmetic procedures that is available in the US, a variety of European countries and some regions in South America.

3. Cardiol Therapeutics (TSX:CRDL,OTCQX:CRTPF)

Market cap: C$117.40 million; current share price: C$4.55; year-to-date gain: 2.25 percent

While Cardiol Therapeutics is a biotechnology company, it has dipped its toes into the pharmaceutical cannabidiol (CBD) sector thanks to a partnership with Dalton Pharma Services. Through this collaboration, Cardiol is developing products to treat heart failure.

At the end of May, Cardiol Therapeutics began trading on the OTCQX Best Market, and in June, the company revealed its intentions for an international clinical trial using its CardiolRx CBD for acute myocarditis.

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

Editorial Disclosure: Cardiol Therapeutics is a client of the Investing News Network. This article is not paid-for content.