The first quarter of the year has been kind to the biotechnology sector in terms of stock performance and the overarching NASDAQ Biotechnology Index (INDEXNASDAQ:NBI).
Since the start of the year, the index has increased from 3,061.26 points to 3,550.20 points as of Thursday (April 4), which is a 16.46 percent bump over the three-month period.
According to the Global Industry Journal, the global biotechnology market grew substantially 2018; between now and 2024, the industry is only projected to continue increasing, which means good news for investors.
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Fueling the industry over the course of this year will be a surge of mergers and acquisitions, which is projected to surpass last year’s figures, according to a report from Research and Markets.
On that note, with the first quarter of the year officially in the books, here the Investing News Network is profiling the five top NASDAQ biotech stocks year-to-date. All companies listed below have market caps between US$50 million and US$500 million with data compiled from TradingView. All numbers and figures are current as of market close on April 4, 2019.
1. Axsome Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AXSM)
Market cap: US$455.94 million; current share price: US$13.70; year-to-date gain: 406.34 percent
First on our top NASDAQ biotech stocks year-to-date list is Axsome Therapeutics, which is a company catered to developing therapies for the central nervous system disorders that don’t have a lot of treatment options.
The company currently has four products in different clinical stages, including: AXS-05, AXS-07, AXS-09 and AXS-12.
In late March, Axsome Therapeutics received breakthrough therapy designation from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its AXS-05. This drug aims to treat major depressive disorder which is estimated to impacted 6.7 percent of US adults.
2. Trevena (NASDAQ:TRVN)
Market cap: US$144.07 million; current share price: US$1.56, year-to-date gain: 183.64 percent
Trevena has a pipeline of products geared towards treating serious conditions that have unmet medical needs. The company’s lead product candidate, oliceridine injection, was developed to treat moderate-to-severe acute pain. Oliceridine injection has previously been granted breakthrough therapy designation by the FDA.
Trevena announced in mid-March that the Journal of Pain Research released a publication highlighting the company’s lead drug. According to the study findings, oliceridine injection demonstrated it was superior to the placebo in patients with moderate-to-severe acute pain in patients post-surgery.
3. Curis (NASDAQ:CRIS)
Market cap: US$73.26 million; current share price: US$2.21; year-to-date gain: 173.17 percent
Middle of the pack on our top NASDAQ biotech stocks year-to-date list is Curis, which is working on drug treatments for cancer. The company currently has five different drug candidates in different stages of development in its pipeline, such as: CUDC-907, CA-170 and CA-4948, CA-327 and Erivedge.
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While Curis released a wide range of updates over the quarter, the most notable announcement came in late January. In the press release, the company announced that the first patient had been dosed in its CA-170 study for treating mesothelioma, which is a cancer that develops after 40 years of being exposed to asbestos.
4. BioXcel Therapeutics (NASDAQ:BTAI)
Market cap: US$159.79 million; current share price: US$10.20; year-to-date gain: 171.06 percent
BioXcel Therapeutics is primarily focused on neuroscience and immuno-oncology medicines. The company currently has four products in different stages of clinical trials geared towards treating geriatric dementia, schizophrenia and biopolar, neuroendocrine prostrate cancer, pancreatic cancer, neurodegeneration and hematological malignancies.
In late March, BioXcel Therapeutics filed a clinical trial application for its BXCL701 in combination with pembrolizumab, which aims to treat neuroendocrine prostate cancer.
5. Spero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:SPRO)
Market cap: US$237.92 million; current share price: US$13.82; year-to-date gain: 112.94 percent
Closing out our five top NASDAQ biotech stocks year-to-date list is Spero Therapeutics. This company is working on products to treat drug-resistant bacterial infections and has three main programs in its pipeline.
The first, being SPR994, is Spero’s lead—and most advanced—lead drug candidate. SPR994 intends to to treat adult patients with multi-drug resistant Gram-negative infections. The company’s second, SPR7200, is for patients with pulmonary non-tuberculous mycobacterial infections. The final product candidate in its pipeline is the IV potentiator platform, which has SPR206 and SPR471, and is also for patients with multi-drug resistant Gram negative bacterial infections in the hospital.
Like other companies on the list, Spero Therapeutics had a wide range of news over the quarter. The company announced in late March that it had received fast track designation from the FDA for its SPR994. This drug is geared towards treating complicated urinary tract infections and acute pyelonephritis, which is a bacterial infection of the renal pelvis and kidney.
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Securities Disclosure: I, Jocelyn Aspa, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
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