“Stay private as long as you can continue to access capital,” venture capital investor Bruce Booth, DPhil, a partner with Atlas Venture, advised biopharma CEOs in October on his blog LifeSciVC. “One should only go public if you really can’t fund yourself as a private company through the important data inflection points. I’ve heard plenty of regrets from CEOs who got beaten up in the public markets, who went out too early, and I’ve shared those regrets as an underwater investor on several painful occasions.”
But as 2025 fades into history, biopharma CEOs who have gone public appear to have reason for holding on to their shares. While the market for first-time biopharma stocks or initial public offerings (IPOs) remains sluggish, shares of the industry’s existing public companies finished 2025 in full-fledged comeback mode, thanks to factors that include clinical progress in a host of therapeutic areas, a continuing flow of new drug approvals, commercial successes such as new product launches, and increased merger-and-acquisition (M&A) activity.
One sign of biotech’s stock rebound can be seen in the significant year-over-year increases in the share prices and total assets of the top two exchange-traded funds (ETFs) centered on biopharma. The iShares Biotechnology ETF (NASDAQ: IBB)—the largest biotechnology ETF with total assets of $8.398 billion as tracked by VettaFi—saw its share price jump nearly 29% during 2025, rising from $132.91 on the first trading day on January 2 to $170.20 at the closing bell on December 19. Total assets climbed 24% from $6.779 billion as reported in GEN’s StockWatch analysis of 2024’s Leaders and Laggards.
The second largest biotech ETF, the SPDR S&P Biotech ETF (NYSE Arca: XBI)—which has total assets of $7.965 billion—surged 37% this year, from $91.53 at the start of the year to $123.43 on December 19. XBI’s total assets rose 19% this past year, from $6.671 billion in December 2024.
Data on the fastest-growing and fastest-shrinking stocks is compiled by Morningstar (NASDAQ: MORN)’s Morningstar Direct asset management platform for StockWatch. The data reveals the top five performing biotech stocks of 2025 and the five biotech stocks that fell the most during this past year, with brief explanations for the increases or declines. The figures for each company are the market returns as compiled between January 1 and December 17.
The list includes stocks on the two exchanges with the largest number of biotech companies that trade shares, NASDAQ and the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).
Just missing the top 5 leaders list at number 6 was NovaBay Pharmaceuticals (NYSE American: NBY), whose shares catapulted 559% from 63 cents a share to $5.30 at the close of trading on December 19. The developer of eyecare, wound care, and skin care products benefited from private investor David E. Lazar’s appointment as CEO on August 19, after NovaBay entered into an agreement with Lazar for him to purchase $6 million of the company’s non-voting convertible preferred stock. NovaBay immediately received $3.85 million in the first of two closings, a cash infusion that sent NovaBay shares rocketing 71% from 60 cents to $1.03 the day after the announcement, then more than quadrupling, rocketing 310% over the ensuing month to $4.22 on September 4. More good news for NovaBay came in October, when it regained compliance with the NYSE American’s rule requiring a listed company to have stockholders’ equity of at least $6 million.
Also tracked by Morningstar are “over the counter” (OTC) stocks, which are smaller equities traded through broker-dealer networks called OTC markets rather than on traditional stock exchanges. The top three OTC stocks rose this year by percentages that surpassed the leading company on our compilation: Oncology Pharma (ONPH, +3,900%), NDT Pharmaceuticals (NDTP, +3,164%), and GPL Holdings (GPLL, +2,933%).
Top 5 Stock Leaders
#1. Relmada Therapeutics
NASDAQ: RLMD
2025 Increase: +765%
Relmada’s alignment with the FDA on key elements of its planned Phase III registrational program for NDV-01, its sustained-release, intravesical formulation of gemcitabine and docetaxel to treat non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC), sent shares more than doubling, leaping 105% from $2.20 on November 3, the day before the announcement, to $4.51 on November 28. The Phase III program is expected to begin in H1 2026 and incorporate two studies, one each in high-grade, second line BCG-unresponsive NMIBC patients and intermediate risk NMIBC in the adjuvant setting. Relmada crossed the $1 a share threshold, surging 44% from 78 cents to $1.12 on August 29, the day chief medical officer Raj S. Pruthi, MD, bought 55,000 shares of the company’s stock, an insider purchase that buoyed the confidence of investors. Earlier in August, Relmada reported positive six-month follow-up data for NDV-01 in NMIBC, showing a 91% overall response rate (21 of 23 patients) at any time point following treatment.
#2. Cidara Therapeutics
NASDAQ: CDTX
2025 Increase: +719%
Cidara shares more than doubled, zooming 105% from $105.99 to $217.71 on November 14 after the developer of drug-Fc conjugates (DFCs) based on its Cloudbreak® platform announced it was being acquired by Merck & Co. (NYSE: MRK) for $9.2 billion. The deal—set to close in the first quarter of 2026—is designed to bolster the buyer’s antiviral pipeline with a Phase III drug designed to prevent influenza in individuals at higher risk of complications. Yet months before Merck bought the company, Cidara stock continually climbed this year on a series of positive developments, starting June 23 when shares more than doubled, soaring 114% from $21.02 to $44.95, after reporting positive topline results from its Phase IIb NAVIGATE trial (NCT06609460) assessing CD388 for the prevention of seasonal influenza in healthy unvaccinated adults ages 18–64. Shares rose to $116.15 on October 13, then yo-yoed for a month until the Merck deal emerged.
#3. Palvella Therapeutics
NASDAQ: PVLA
2025 Increase: +707%
Rather than one or more huge leaps, Palvella shares showed a slow and steady climb during 2025 from the low- to mid-teens per share to $99.73 at the close on December 19. Four days earlier, Palvella reported positive topline results from the Phase II TOIVA trial (NCT06653842) evaluating QTORIN™ 3.9% rapamycin anhydrous gel to treat cutaneous venous malformations (VMs): 73% of participants (11/15) improved on the Overall Cutaneous Venous Malformations Investigator Global Assessment (Overall cVM-IGA) at Week 12, while 67% (10/15) were “much improved” or “very much improved.” A day later, the FDA granted its Fast Track designation for QTORIN™ 3.9% for another indication, treatment of angiokeratomas, with a Phase II trial set for launch in the second half of 2026. QTORIN™ 3.9% is due to report topline results in Q1 2026 from its Phase III SELVA trial (NCT06239480) studying the candidate in its lead clinical indication of microcystic lymphatic malformations.
#4. Terns Pharmaceuticals
NASDAQ: TERN
2025 Increase: +675%
Terns began its meteoric climb, jumping 70% from $8.26 to $14.03 on November 3, when it announced it was selected to present positive results from its Phase I CARDINAL trial (NCT06163430) evaluating the allosteric BCR-ABL inhibitor TERN-701 in patients with relapsed/refractory chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) at the 67th ASH Annual Meeting and Exposition. That data showed treatment with TERN-701 resulted in an overall (cumulative) major molecular response (MMR) rate of 75% (24/32 patients) by 24 weeks, with 64% (14/22) achieving MMR and 100% maintaining MMR. Terns shares catapulted another 60% from $29.36 to $47.09 between December 8–11 after presenting updated data from the CARDINAL trial showing that at 24 weeks as of September 13, TERN-701 achieved a 64% (18/28) major molecular response across all evaluable patients dosed between 160 mg and 500 mg, and 75% (18/24) in patients dosed at 320 mg and above.
#5. Celcuity
NASDAQ: CELC
2025 Increase: +667%
Celcuity shares ambled along in the $10–$12 range until July 28, when they nearly tripled, zooming 167% from $13.77 to $36.79 after announcing positive data from the PIK3CA wild-type cohort of the Phase III VIKTORIA-1 trial (NCT05501886). Celcuity’s combination of gedatolisib, palbociclib, and fulvestrant lowered the risk of disease progression or death by 76% vs. fulvestrant alone in adults with hormone receptor-positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-negative, PIK3CA wild-type, locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer. Even better, the median progression-free survival for the “triplet” was 9.3 months, vs. 2.0 months with fulvestrant alone. Shares also climbed 36% from $51.96 to $70.58 on October 20 after Celcuity presented updated positive data at the 2025 ESMO annual meeting from its Phase I trial (NCT06190899) of gedatolisib plus Bayer/Orion-marketed Nubeqa® (darolutamide) in men with metastatic castration resistant prostate cancer—a median radiographic progression-free survival (rPFS) of 9.1 months and a six-month rPFS rate of 67%.
Top 5 Stock Laggards
#1. Aditxt
NASDAQ: ADTX
2025 Decrease: −99.97%
On December 1, NASDAQ notified Aditxt—GEN’s top stock Laggard in 2024—about delisting the company’s shares unless it addresses how it plans to comply with the exchange’s stockholders’ equity or net income minimum rule—despite completing a 1-for-113 reverse stock split in November. That month, Aditxt shared its bitXbio™ “growth vision” for evolving beyond a traditional public company into a portfolio of companies. One is Pearsanta, Aditxt’s precision diagnostics subsidiary, which plans to launch an IPO in 2026 to commercialize its Mitomic® and Adductomics testing platforms for early detection of cancer and other diseases. Another is women’s health products company Evofem, in which Aditxt is a shareholder, and which Aditxt sought to acquire until Evofem shareholders rejected the deal in October. Aditxt is seeking shareholder approval to rebrand as bitXbio, a name reflecting its transition into “a platform that connects public markets, blockchain and Web3, digital assets, and life sciences operating companies.”
#2. CDT Equity (formerly Conduit Pharmaceuticals)
NASDAQ: CDT
2025 Decrease: −99.79%
The former Conduit Pharmaceuticals started 2025 rising 62% from $912 to $1,476 a share over six trading days. CDT’s long slide began January 23 with a 1-for-100 reverse stock split designed to demonstrate compliance with NASDAQ’s $1-a-share minimum bid rule. From $600, shares mostly plummeted throughout 2025, except for an 84% leap from $186 to $342 on February 7 after announcing its collaboration with cybernetics company Sarborg was advancing to Phase II, focused on building tech infrastructure toward AI drug development. Conduit founder and initial investor Andrew Regan, PhD, succeeded David Tapolczay, PhD, as CEO in April, with Tapolczay stepping down “for personal reasons.” Conduit rebranded as CDT in August, announcing a strategy of unlocking untapped value from clinical compounds cast aside by pharma giants despite strong Phase I safety data. CDT’s board in October approved a 1-for-8 reverse stock split, hoping to boost funding toward its strategy, but the stock continued cratering, reaching $1.63 on December 19.
#3. Polyrizon
NASDAQ: PLRZ
2025 Decrease: −99.66%
Polyrizon carried out two reverse stock splits in 2025: A 1-for-100 split effective May 27, intended to regain compliance with NASDAQ’s $1-a-share minimum bid rule, and a 1-for-6 reverse stock split effective November 28, for which no purpose was given in a regulatory filing. The 1-for-100 came a month after NASDAQ notified Polyrizon that it had fallen out of compliance with the minimum bid rule for a 30-day period. The moves did not revive the stock, which cratered from a split-adjusted $2,745 on January 2 to $9.43 on December 19. On a brighter note, Polyrizon said on December 8 that it successfully completed a pre-submission meeting with the FDA about its allergen-blocking PL-14 Allergy Blocker nasal spray, with plans to launch clinical trials in 2026. Eleven days later, Polyrizon launched a formal dialogue with the FDA for its PL-16 Viral Blocker, a non-pharmacological intranasal product designed to reduce exposure to airborne respiratory viruses, including influenza and cold viruses.
#4. Aptevo Therapeutics
NASDAQ: APVO
2025 Decrease: −98.72%
Despite several announcements of clinical progress, Aptevo appeared to scare away investors worried about share dilution following several financings. Aptevo raised $18.7 million under a standby equity purchase agreement with investor Yorkville and a $4.1 million “at the market” financing with Roth Capital Partners. Aptevo also closed registered direct offerings of $2.1 million and $2 million in April, and $8 million in June. In between, Aptevo completed a 1-for-20 reverse stock split aimed at regaining compliance with NASDAQ’s $1-a-share minimum bid rule. On December 9 at ASH, Aptevo announced positive preliminary data from its ongoing Phase Ib/II RAINIER trial (NCT06634394) of mipletamig plus azacitidine and venetoclax for newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia patients unfit for intensive chemotherapy: 93% overall response rate, 73% of treated patients achieved complete response (CR), while 60% of minimum residual disease (MRD) evaluable CR or CRi patients (CR with incomplete count recovery) achieved MRD negative status.
#5. Bio Green Med Solution (formerly Cyclacel Pharmaceuticals)
NASDAQ: BGMS
2025 Decrease: −98.52%
From a high of $84 on May 6, shares plummeted despite a series of moves that included a 1-for-15 reverse stock split in July, intended to regain compliance with NASDAQ’s $1-a-share minimum share price rule, and a change of name. The former Cyclacel Pharmaceuticals rebranded itself in September after acquiring the Malaysia-based fire safety product company Fitters, and making Fitters a subsidiary of the combined company, now called Bio Green Med Solution. A month later, Bio Green sold all patent rights to its cancer candidate plogosertib (formerly CYC140), a small molecule polo-like kinase 1 (PLK 1) inhibitor being developed to treat advanced cancers and hematological malignancies, for $300,000 plus a potential $170,000 payment tied to achieving an undisclosed milestone. Bio Green ended Q3 with cash and cash equivalents of $3.8 million—up 23% from $3.1 million on December 31, 2024, but still only able to fund operations into the first quarter of 2026.
