Antigenics shares soar on positive cancer drug results
New York-based biotech firm Antigenics Inc. (Nasdaq: AGEN) announced today positive clinical trial results of its investigational cancer vaccine, Oncophage.
The drug was shown to yield a significant tumor-specific immune response in all12 treated patients, according to the preliminary results of a recent Phase I/II study involving patients with recurrent, high-grade glioma. Glioma, a cancer affecting the central nervous system that begins in glial cells, represents the largest group of primary brain tumors. Malignant glioma is a fatal disease.
Antigenics presented the study’s findings at the 75th annual meeting of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons.
Investors reacted swiftly to the news, as 6.5 million shares changed hands Monday morning, compared with a three-month average volume of about 330,000. Meanwhile, the company’s stock gained $1.28, or nearly 35%, to $4.95, reaching a new 52-week-high after trading as high as $5.42 earlier in the day. Previously, Antigenics’ stock had traded between $1.38 (on Aug., 9, 2006) and $4.60 (on April 9) in the past year.
Dr. Henry Brem, director of neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins, described the study results as “encouraging.”
“A larger Phase 2 trial is certainly warranted to evaluate efficacy,” said Brem, a developer of Gliadel Wafer, the first approved local therapy for glioma.
Investigators found no adverse events or toxicity associated with the vaccine, according to Antigen. Researchers will continue to follow patients for overall survival and plan to present further results from the trial later this year. Based on the results, the Phase II portion of the study should begin in mid-2007.
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