Over the past week, a few biotech companies made impressive runs. These moves were the result of clinical trial results, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) decisions and more. The companies 24/7 Wall St. has picked stood out from the rest with positive news guiding them last week. We have included information about each company, as well as recent trading activity and the consensus price target.

GW Pharmaceuticals

On Monday morning, GW Pharmaceuticals PLC (NASDAQ: GWPH) led the bulls out of the gate on news of positive late-stage study results. The company announced the positive results of the first pivotal Phase 3 study of its investigational medicine Epidiolex (cannabidiol) for the treatment of Dravet syndrome.

In this study, Epidiolex achieved the primary endpoint of a significant reduction in convulsive seizures assessed over the entire treatment period compared with the placebo. Epidiolex has both Orphan Drug Designation and Fast Track Designation from the FDA in the treatment of Dravet syndrome, a rare and debilitating type of epilepsy for which there are currently no treatments approved in the United States.

Shares rose nearly 90% over the course of the week, and year to date they are up 5%. The stock traded at $72.72 on Friday’s close. The consensus price target is $148.83, and the 52-week range is $35.83 to $133.98.

Celator Pharmaceuticals

Positive results from a late-stage clinical trial had Celator Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: CPXX) leading the bulls in Tuesday’s session. The company announced positive results from its Phase 3 trial of Vyxeos Liposome for Injection (also known as CPX-351) in patients with high-risk (secondary) acute myeloid leukemia. Data will be submitted for presentation at the American Society of Clinical Oncology 2016 Annual Meeting.

The trial met its primary endpoint, demonstrating a statistically significant improvement in overall survival. The percentage of patients alive 12 months after randomization was 41.5% on the Vyxeos arm, compared to 27.6% on the 7+3 arm. The percentage of patients alive 24 months after randomization was 31.1% on the Vyxeos arm, compared to 12.3% on the 7+3 arm.

During the week, shares rose over 400%, and they are up about the same amount year to date. The stock closed at $8.70 on Friday. The stock has a consensus price target of $18.33 and a 52-week range of $1.12 to $10.25.

Bio Blast Pharma

Positive clinical results also had Bio Blast Pharma Ltd. (NASDAQ: ORPN) blowing away all the other bulls in Wednesday’s session, with its stock up over 150%. The company announced positive results from its HopeMD Phase 2 six-month open-label clinical study in patients with oculopharyngeal muscular dystrophy (OPMD).

OPMD can be described as a rare progressive muscle-wasting disease characterized by swallowing difficulties (dysphagia), leading to the risk of aspiration of food into the lungs, weight loss and generalized progressive muscle weakness. The treatment was observed to be safe and well tolerated with no drug-related serious adverse events reported. Also no patients chose to discontinue the study for reasons related to safety or side effects.

Over the course of the week, shares rose nearly 200% to a high of $7.95, but they slid back down by the end of the week. Year to date, shares are down 29%. The stock traded at $2.85 on Friday’s close. The consensus analyst target is $24.00, and the 52-week range is $2.58 to $8.50.

Vitae Pharmaceuticals

On Thursday morning, Vitae Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: VTAE) watched its shares absolutely take off following the release of positive results from its mid-stage clinical trial. The company announced positive top-line results from its Phase 2a proof-of-concept clinical trial of VTP-43742 in psoriatic patients.

Prior to the jump in shares, Vitae’s stock was actually down year to date about 80% and trading at a 52-week low. Over the week, shares rose about 50%, but now they are down 61% year to date. Shares traded at $7.19 on Friday’s close. The stock has a consensus price target of $17.00 and a 52-week range of $4.08 to $18.71.

Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.