Top 5 Small-cap Pharma Stocks of 2025
Today’s pharmaceutical stocks are facing the challenges of government-imposed drug price caps, waning demand for COVID-19 vaccines and global stock market upheaval. However, the industry’s major underlying drivers — higher rates of cancer and chronic disease — are still at play and not expected to dissipate.
The US reigns supreme in the pharma market, both in terms of drug demand and development. In 2024, 50 novel medicines were approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), compared to 55 such approvals in 2023. Last year’s FDA approvals include Eli Lilly and Company’s (NYSE:LLY) Alzheimer’s disease treatment Kisunla.
Big pharma largely steals the show, but some small- and mid-cap NASDAQ pharma stocks have also made gains.
Below the Investing News Network profiles the top five small-cap pharma stocks on the NASDAQ by year-to-date share price performance. Data was compiled on August 5, 2025, using TradingView’s stock screener, and pharma companies with market caps between US$50 million and US$500 million at that time were considered.
Read on to learn more about their activities this year.
1. ABVC BioPharma (NASDAQ:ABVC)
Year-to-date gain: 405.95 percent
Market cap: US$50.61 million
Share price: US$2.98
ABVC BioPharma is a clinical-stage biopharma firm building a pipeline of products targeting a broad range of indications in ophthalmology, oncology, hematology and central nervous system (CNS) disorders.
It is advancing on six drugs and one medical device. ABVC in-licenses biotechnologies from research institutions such as Stanford University, the University of California at San Francisco and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.
In mid-April, ABVC reported its 2024 financial results, highlighting total revenues of US$509,589 in 2024, representing 234 percent growth year-on-year. The company attributed this increase to milestone payments collected from its global licensing partners in the CNS, oncology and ophthalmology therapeutic areas.
This positive news provided a good base of support for ABVC’s share price, which started the year out at US$0.64, but by the end of April had pushed through the US$1 level.
Developments later in the summer gave the stock a further boost to the upside. On June 6, ABVC announced that its affiliate OncoX BioPharma is set to acquire the Lycopenoid Lycogen platform, including patented manufacturing technology and commercialization rights, from Asia-Pacific Biotech Developing.
“OncoX’s acquisition of the Lycogen platform further enhances ABVC Group’s position in botanical oncology innovation,” said ABVC CEO Dr. Uttam Patil in a press release at the time. “This transaction strengthens our pipeline and demonstrates our ability to convert platform assets into monetizable growth.”
In July, ABVC received a US$150,000 cash licensing payment from AiBtl BioPharma, one of its strategic partners. It represents a key milestone toward the company’s commercialization of its drug candidates ABV-1504 and…
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