With just a few hours left for the year to end, it can be said that 2017 turned out to be a pretty good year for the biotech sector. The sector had been struggling due to several issues including the drug pricing controversy, mixed results, slower-than-expected new product launches, increasing competition and pipeline setbacks.

However, with investors being more comfortable about the drug pricing controversy this year, the focus is now more on the fundamentals of the sector. New product sales ramp up, R&D success and innovation, and continued strong performance from key products are some of the factors that helped the sector rebound in 2017. The Nasdaq Biotechnology Index is up an impressive 22% year to date.

The year also turned out to be pretty good where FDA approvals are concerned. Till date, the regulatory agency has given its nod to 46 novel drugs, well above the 22 drugs approved last year. Immuno-oncology was a key focus area in 2017, whether it was to do with scientific conferences, clinical trial collaborations, acquisitions or FDA approvals.

The approval of Novartis’s Kymriah, a gene cell therapy, and Gilead’s (GILD – Free Report) Yescarta, a CAR-T (chimeric antigen receptor T cells) cell treatment, ensured that the highly lucrative immuno-oncology market remained in the limelight.

The $11.9 billion acquisition of immuno-oncology focused Kite by Gilead also increased interest in this category with investors expecting more acquisition announcements in this area.

Of course, it was not all good news for the sector. Companies like Celgene and Biogen were hit by pipeline setbacks while Gilead continues to struggle due to the dwindling sales of its hepatitis C virus (“HCV”) franchise.

Nevertheless, there were quite a few companies that fared extremely well in 2017 with their shares outperforming the sector as well as the overall market on the back of factors like deals, pipeline progress and FDA approvals. Here is a look at five such companies.