In the table below are the 20 best-performing biotechnology stocks of 2014. (Click here to see the 20 worst.)
It was an amazing year for biotech investors, although not quite as eye-popping as 2013, when four biotechnology stocks quintupled in value. The Amex Biotechnology Index rose 48%, 4% less than in 2013. The biggest upside came from an unexpected buyout: the purchase of
But new, breakthrough technologies performed well. Take, for instance, Agios Pharmaceuticals, of Cambridge, Mass., which debuted two promising cancer drugs that work by disrupting the metabolism of tumor cells. Results for the first drug, in April, were so good that I put the word "Wow" in the headline. A New Yorker profile of the company followed, along with data from a second drug followed, showing complete remissions in four of 14 patients. Chief Executive David Schenkein, a veteran of Millennium Pharmaceuticals and Genentech, appears to be building a serious oncology company.
And then there's the return of gene therapy, in which genes are delivered using viruses to treat genetic diseases. Bluebird Bio shares rose 367% as a pair of patients responded well to its gene therapy treatment for beta thalessemia, a rare blood disease that afflicts 15,000 patients worldwide. One of the big questions: how much will the treatment cost? It will be hundreds of thousands of dollars -- and might justify a $1 million per patient price tag. But more data is needed.
| Ticker | Company | Total return in 2014 (%) | Market capitalization ($MIL) | Quarterly sales ($MIL) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AVNR | Avanir Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Class A | 404.5 | 3,284.5 | 32.7 |
| OVAS | OvaScience, Inc. | 383.8 | 1,075.3 | 0.0 |
| AGIO | Agios Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 367.8 | 4,103.9 | 33.9 |
| BLUE | Bluebird Bio, Inc. | 337.2 | 2,875.6 | 6.4 |
| RCPT | Receptos, Inc. | 322.6 | 3,792.8 | 3.5 |
| TGTX | TG Therapeutics, Inc. | 306.2 | 696.4 | 0.0 |
| RNA | Prosensa Holding NV | 301.5 | 677.0 | 0.0 |
| PTX | 272.6 | 359.6 | 31.5 | |
| ACHN | 269.1 | 1,228.0 | 0.0 | |
| FOLD | Amicus Therapeutics, Inc. | 254.0 | 774.7 | 0.3 |
| CTSO | CytoSorbents Corporation | 218.4 | 251.6 | 1.2 |
| PTCT | PTC Therapeutics, Inc. | 205.1 | 1,739.6 | 1.7 |
| ESPR | Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. | 194.3 | 823.0 | 0.0 |
| TTPH | Tetraphase Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 193.7 | 1,217.4 | 2.3 |
| ISR | IsoRay, Inc. | 192.0 | 80.1 | 1.0 |
| ANIP | ANI Pharmaceuticals Inc | 180.8 | 638.9 | 17.4 |
| CMRX | Chimerix, Inc. | 166.4 | 1,468.5 | 1.2 |
| CBMG | Cellular Biomedicine Group, Inc. | 153.1 | 128.4 | 0.1 |
| HRT | Arrhythmia Research Technology, Inc. | 142.9 | 21.2 | 6.0 |
| NBIX | Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. | 139.2 | 1,698.0 | 0.0 |
