The Success of Biotech Pioneers in 2024: Assessment of Their Performance in 2025
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In the dynamic world of biotechnology, 2024 was a year marked by significant advancements and investments. Nine companies were highlighted as "ones to watch" for the year, promising innovative approaches and important clinical milestones. However, as we approach mid-2025, the stock performances of these companies have painted a more varied picture, suggesting that market and sector challenges have influenced investor sentiment and valuations.
OrsoBio, one of the standout companies, closed a $67 million series B round in September 2024. Its lead candidate, TLC-6740, advanced through phase 1 trials, showing positive safety and metabolic signals in humans.
However, other companies in the spotlight experienced significant stock price declines despite their progress. CERo Therapeutics Holdings Inc. (CERO), for instance, saw a dramatic loss in stock value, plunging more than 99% since its 2024 debut. Immuneering Corporation (IMRX), focused on oncology therapies, had its key drug candidates receive FDA orphan and fast-track designations, but shares declined over 70% year-to-date in 2025. NKGen Biotech Inc. (NKGN), which develops natural killer cell therapies including one for Alzheimer's, demonstrated promising clinical trial results but still saw shares fall more than 66% this year.
These companies attracted retail investors with their innovative approaches and important clinical milestones, but their stock performances were mostly poor or mixed by mid-2025. This suggests that despite scientific progress, market and sector challenges influenced investor sentiment and valuations after the initial 2024 hype.
In a different turn of events, various biotech companies made strategic moves in 2024 and 2025. Vertex launched a collaboration with Orna Therapeutics in January 2025, anchored in ReNAgade's delivery tech, worth up to $1 billion in milestones. Aiolos Bio was acquired by GSK in January 2024 in a deal worth $1 billion upfront and up to $400 million in milestones. Capstan Therapeutics was acquired by AbbVie in June 2025 for up to $2.1 billion. Maze Therapeutics completed an upsized IPO in February 2025, raising $140 million.
The biotech landscape also saw mergers and acquisitions. ReNAgade Therapeutics' RNA delivery technology was acquired by Orna Therapeutics in mid-2024. Carisma Therapeutics announced a merger agreement with OrthoCellix, a subsidiary of Ocugen, in June 2025. The new company formed from the Carisma-OrthoCellix merger will carry forward Carisma's Nasdaq listing under a new ticker.
However, the Carisma merger has been met with controversy, as shareholders initiated an investigation to find out whether the merger is fair to them and whether Carisma "breached its fiduciary duties to shareholders by failing to obtain the best possible consideration for Carisma shareholders."
In terms of clinical progress, Cellarity dosed its first healthy volunteer in a phase 1 trial of CLY-124, an oral globin-switching therapy for sickle cell disease in June 2025. Kriya Therapeutics transitioned key programs into the clinic, including KRIYA-825, a gene therapy for geographic atrophy, which entered phase 1/2 in 2025. Maze Therapeutics has a growing clinical momentum, with a cash runway into 2027.
Partnerships also played a significant role in the biotech sector. Quotient Therapeutics secured a strategic collaboration with Flagship Pioneering and Pfizer's joint initiative in August 2024 to apply its platform to cardiovascular and renal disease targets. Cellarity's partnership with Novo Nordisk expanded further, with a new program in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) in 2025. Maze Therapeutics turned a profit in 2024, boosted by licensing revenue from a Shionogi deal.
In conclusion, while the biotech sector in 2024 saw significant advancements and investments, the stock performances of many companies have been mixed, highlighting the influence of market and sector challenges. Despite this, the sector continues to push boundaries with innovative treatments and strategic collaborations, setting the stage for future developments.
[1] Source: The Motley Fool [2] Source: Seeking Alpha
- The year 2024 marked significant advancements and investments in the biotech sector, with nine companies being identified as promising contenders, showcasing innovative approaches and important clinical milestones. [The Motley Fool]
- Pharmaceuticals and biopharma companies made strategic moves in 2024 and 2025, such as partnerships, acquisitions, and initial public offerings, demonstrating the dynamic nature of the healthcare and biotech industries. [Seeking Alpha]
- Gene therapy and biotech companies, like OrsoBio, NKGen Biotech, and Kriya Therapeutics, made clinical progress in various areas, including Alzheimer's, oncology, geographic atrophy, and sickle cell disease, showcasing the potential for breakthrough treatments. [The Motley Fool, Seeking Alpha]
- Despite positive clinical milestones and innovative treatments, the stock performances of many biotech companies have been mixed, suggesting that market and sector challenges have influenced investor sentiment and valuations. [The Motley Fool]
- Controversy arose in the biotech sector, with shareholders questioning the fairness of the Carisma Therapeutics merger, leading to an investigation on whether the company breached its fiduciary duties to its shareholders. [Seeking Alpha]
