Pharmasset soars on positive clinical trial results
Pharmasset, Inc. (Nasdaq: VRUS) shares are climbing to new heights after the pharmaceutical company reported that 85% of patients who took the firm’s Hepatitis C treatment in a Phase I clinical trial achieved undetectable levels of the disease after four weeks.
No serious adverse effects were reported during the trial. For the trial, 50 patients took two oral doses of R7128, the Princeton, N.J.-based company’s chronic Hepatitis C treatment candidate, in combination with two other treatments.
The World Health Organization estimates that nearly 180 million people worldwide are infected with the Hepatitis C virus.
In afternoon trading, VRUS shares are soaring 43.67%, or $6.11, at $20.10. Over the last 52 weeks, shares have ranged from $7.54 to $20.43.
