Top 6 Biopharma Gainers of the Past Week

By Chris Lange Updated Jan 13, 2:53AM EST · Published Oct 2, 10:05AM EDT

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Top 6 Biopharma Gainers of the Past Week — © Thinkstock

Over the past week, a few biotech companies made absolutely massive runs. The health care sector has been under fire from Washington over the past year, but it seems that things are picking up from recent positive trials, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approvals and mergers and acquisitions. These companies 24/7 Wall St. has picked stood out from the rest with at least 25% gains over the course of the week. We have included information about each company, as well as recent trading activity and the consensus price target.

Catabasis Pharmaceuticals

Catabasis Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: CATB) shares skyrocketed on Thursday following an announcement that it would be partnering with Sarepta Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: SRPT) for a joint research collaboration for a treatment for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD).

Ultimately, the two companies will contribute their respective expertise to study an exon skipping treatment developed by Sarepta, together with an oral NF-kB inhibition treatment developed by Catabasis in a mouse model of DMD.

Over the past week, the stock gained about 41%. Shares were trading at $6.16 on Friday’s close, with a consensus price target of $19.50 and a 52-week trading range of $3.31 to $10.83.

Sarepta shares did not gain as much, but the stock was up 6% to close out the week at $61.41. The consensus price target is $72.57, and the 52-week range is $8.00 to $63.73.

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Anavex Life Sciences

Shares of Anavex Life Sciences Corp. (NASDAQ: AVXL) soared on Wednesday following a material transfer agreement with Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ: BIIB). Biogen will test Anavex’s lead drug candidate, ANAVEX 2-73, in an oligodendrocyte precursor cell (OPC) differentiation assay. If all goes well in this study and there is a satisfactory result from the OPC assay study, it may lead to an in vivo remyelination study using a chemical demylination model.

Over the past week, Anavex shares increased by nearly 17%. The stock closed trading at $3.63 on Friday, with a consensus price target of $12.50 and a 52-week range of $1.37 to $14.84.

Biogen shares did not gain nearly as much, but the stock was up less than 1% to close out the week at $313.03. Its consensus price target is $344.61, and the 52-week range is $223.02 to $333.65.

Array BioPharma

Shares of Array BioPharma Inc. (NASDAQ: ARRY) saw a handy gain early in Monday’s session after the company announced top-line results from the first part of its late stage skin cancer trial. Specifically, Array announced its Phase 3 Columbus study evaluating LGX818 (encorafenib), and MEK162 (binimetinib), in unresectable or metastatic melanoma.

Looking at the investor reaction, the study met its primary endpoint significantly improving progression free survival (PFS) compared with vemurafenib. In the analysis of the primary endpoint, the median PFS for patients treated with the combination of encorafenib plus binimetinib was 14.9 months versus 7.3 months for patients treated with vemurafenib HR.

Array shares grew by 85% last week, closing the week at $6.75, with a consensus price target of $9.43 and a 52-week range of $2.38 to $7.27.

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GW Pharmaceuticals

GW Pharmaceuticals PLC (NASDAQ: GWPH) announced positive results its Phase 3 clinical trial of its investigational medicine Epidiolex (cannabidiol) for the treatment of seizures associated with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, a rare and severe form of childhood-onset epilepsy.

During the treatment period, patients taking Epidiolex 20mg/kg/day achieved a median reduction in monthly drop seizures of 42%, compared with a reduction of 17% in patients taking placebo, and patients taking Epidiolex 10mg/kg/day achieved a median reduction in monthly drop seizures of 37%, compared with a reduction of 17% in patients taking placebo.

Over the past week, the share price increased by 23%. The stock was trading at $132.73 on Friday’s close, with a consensus price target of $138.13 and a 52-week range of $35.83 to $135.16.

About the Author Chris Lange →

Chris Lange is a writer for 24/7 Wall St., based in Houston. He has covered financial markets over the past decade with an emphasis on healthcare, tech, and IPOs. During this time, he has published thousands of articles with insightful analysis across these complex fields. Currently, Lange's focus is on military and geopolitical topics.

Lange's work has been quoted or mentioned in Forbes, The New York Times, Business Insider, USA Today, MSN, Yahoo, The Verge, Vice, The Intelligencer, Quartz, Nasdaq, The Motley Fool, Fox Business, International Business Times, The Street, Seeking Alpha, Barron’s, Benzinga, and many other major publications.

A graduate of Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, Lange majored in business with a particular focus on investments. He has previous experience in the banking industry and startups.