5 Massachusetts Biotechs That Tanked More Than 60% in 2017

This is definitely a list few, if any, companies want to be on. Noting that General Electric had an awful year in 2017, losing 44.8 percent of its stock value, Boston Business Journal took a look at the state’s biggest stock losers. Five of them were biotech companies, all of which had a worse year than General Electric.

1. Curis

Headquartered in Lexington, Mass., Curis focuses on immuno-oncology and precision oncology. Average analyst recommendations list the company as a "buy," although it also has an above average risk profile. Economics and Money notes that company executives have bought a net of 75,000 company shares in the last three months, which suggests some optimism about the company. This may be a case of buy-low, sell-high, because the company’s stock dropped 77.3 percent this year.

The company reported in November that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) hadaccepted its Investigational New drug (IND) application for CA-4948 for specific lymphomas. It was also enrolling patients in the Phase I trial of CA-170, a dual immune checkpoint inhibitor.

2. ConforMIS

Located in Billerica, Mass., ConforMIS is developing customizable knee implants. In June 2017, the company announced that it had received FDA 510(k) clearance for its iTotal Hip replacement system. "Having treated over 50,000 patients with customized knee replacement implants, ConforMIS brings over a decade of experience in patient-specific technology to the hip replacement market," said Mark Augusti, the company’s president and chief executive officer, in a statement. "FDA clearance of iTotal Hip demonstrates the ability to apply our proprietary iFit image-to-implant technology to other joints. There has been a trend towards personalized healthcare and we believe patients expect and deserve personalized treatment."

ConforMIS stock dropped 70.6 percent in 2017.

3. Merrimack Pharmaceuticals

Based in Cambridge, Mass., Merrimack currently has four clinical trials in four types of cancers as well as six candidates in preclinical development. The FDA granted orphan drug designation to its MM-121 in heregulin positive non-small cell lung cancer in the third quarter, and expected the first patient to be dosed by the end of the year in its SHERBOC Phase II trial of MM-121 in patients with heregulin positive, hormone receptor positive, HER2 negative metastatic breast cancer. Top-line results for the Phase II CARRIE study of MM-141 in pancreatic cancer are expected in the first half of 2018. Top-line results for the Phase II SHERLOC trial of MM-121 in non-small cell lung cancer are expected in the first half of this year. In the second half of 2018, the company expects safety data and dosing information from its Phase II trial and Phase I trial of MM-310 in patients with solid tumors.

Richard Peters, company president and chief executive officer, stated, "With the potential to emerge from the fourth quarter with a clean balance sheet and three upcoming data readouts from our lead clinical candidates, MM-121, MM-141 and MMN-310, we look towards 2018 with great anticipation and are poised to deliver on our corporate goals with a strong infrastructure and disciplined approach.

Merrimack shares lost 63.1 percent in 2017.

4. Amag Pharmaceuticals

Headquartered in Waltham, Mass., Amag focuses on maternal and women’s health, anemia management and cancer supportive care. On Nov. 8, 2017, the company’s Cord Blood Registry (CBR) published a study in the journal Stem Cells Translational Medicine that found children with cerebral palsy who received an infusion of their own neonatal cord blood, which was collected at birth and stored, showed improved motor function and brain connectivity a year after treatment.

"The study results are compelling for further study of the use of autologous blood cord infusions in children with cerebral palsy," said Joanne Kurtzberg, the study’s principal investigator and director of the Carolinas Cord Blood Bank and The Duke Pediatric Blood and Marrow Transplant Program, in a statement.

Company shares have dropped 61.9 percent in 2017.

5. Inotek Pharmaceueticals

Based in Lexington, Mass., Inotek focuses on developing therapies for serious eye diseases. The company is something of a black hole, having published no press releases for the entire year of 2017. According to Simply Wall Street, the company has a market cap of $74.59 million. On Dec. 27, 2017, Simply Wall Street wrote, "Over the last year ITEK produced negative earnings of -$37.6 million. But this is an improvement on prior year’s loss of -$38.1 million."

The company’s shares lost 61.2 percent in 2017.