Top Weekly Performers in Biopharma

Top Weekly Performers from:
Fri 04 Sep vs. Fri 28 Aug


Top 15 Gains (%) - ranked on change in share price



Rank/Company/Currency/Market Cap/Change in Market Cap/Notes

1 Nutra Pharma USD +89% 74M +34
Sep 2: Shares rise on 12.5x average daily trading volume.

2 Aerocrine SEK +65% 144M +57
Sep 3: Health Canada approves Aerocrine's Niox Mino, a medical device that measures inflammation in the airways, for use in treating asthma.

3 Peplin AUD +50% 129M +43
Sep 2: Leo Pharma announces agreed takeover of Peplin, for $288m.

4 Facet Biotech USD +48% 378M +123
Sep 4: Company receives a hostile takeover offer from Biogen Idec at $14.50 per share, having previously rejected a $15 per share offer; Biogen's offer values Facet at $355m, only around $45m higher than Facet's estimated cash of $310m; Facet's shares closed at $15.38 suggesting that the market expects Biogen will eventually have to raise its bid to close the deal.

5 The Medicines Company USD +46% 583M +184
Sep 2: Company announces that it has received a new patent from the US patent office for its anti-clotting drug, Angiomax, raising analyst hopes that onset of generic competition for the drug will be delayed.

6 Sinovac Biotech USD +45% 388M +120
Sep 3: The Chinese State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) issues a production license for the company's H1N1 swine flu vaccine, Panflu, prompting the company to raise its revenue guidance for the year to greater than 20% growth. 31 Aug: Company receives a positive opinion for Panflu by an expert committee held by the Chinese SFDA.

7 Diamyd Medical SEK +36% 162M +42
Sep 3: Company reports 4-year follow-up data from a phase II trial of type 1 diabetes patients who received just two injections of Diamyd vaccine.

8 Jazz Pharmaceuticals USD +31% 287M +68
Sep 4: Shares rise on 5.5x average daily trading volume.

9 Transcept Pharmaceuticals USD +24% 164M +31

10 Algeta NOK +24% 337M +64
Sep 3: Company licenses global rights to its phase III, bone metastases cancer drug, Alpharadin, to Bayer for $61m upfront and potentially $800m in total, whilst retaining a 50% co-promotion and profit-share option in the US; Bayer will cover the majority of further developmental costs for Alpharadin.

11 AVI BioPharma USD +23% 191M +36
Shares of companies engaged in the development of a swine flu vaccine rise following a positive recommendation for Sinovac Biotech's swine flu vaccine in China on 31 Aug.

12 Protalix BioTherapeutics USD +23% 565M +107
Sep 3: Shares rise to a one-year high of $7.57 on increasing confidence in the company's Gaucher disease product, prGCD, and heightened speculation the company is a takeover target given its low cost plant cell-based biological manufacturing technology. 2 Sep: Hapoalim Securities initiates coverage with an "outperform" rating and price target of $10, claiming Teva could be a likely acquirer. 1 Sep: Shares rise on 5.5x average daily trading volume.

13 Sepracor USD +23% 2533M +470
Sep 2: Shares rise to a five-year high prior to a halt in trading on news that the company is to be acquired by Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma for $23 per share, or $2.7bn in total.

14 Cellectis EUR +21% 186M +33
Sep 1: Monsanto licenses the use of Cellectis' genome modification technology for the development of meganuclease technology in plants; company to receive €3m upfront, milestones and royalties.

15 Curis USD +21% 159M +27
Sept 2[post-market]: The New England Journal of Medicine publishes two encouraging papers on GDC-0449, a drug which targets the hedgehog pathway, including phase I data from a trial in the rare skin cancer basal cell carcinoma; Curis and partner Roche have a phase II trial in the indication ongoing; the papers raise hopes that the drug will prove successful in fighting skin cancer and possibly other tumour types.