There was a lot of momentum in the biotech sector on Tuesday, with some stocks seeing major, triple-digit gains throughout the day. The biggest winner, by far, was a small biotech company known as Curis (NASDAQ: CRIS) that’s working on a promising cancer treatment at the moment.
After the company announced strong phase 1 results for its blood cancer drug that’s currently in early development, shares of the stock surged in what was a major show of investor optimism.
Easily one of the biggest single-day jumps over the past few weeks, the excitement surrounding Curis’ new treatment comes from the fact that the condition it seeks to treat it notoriously difficult to handle. The company’s leukemia treatment, CA-4948, saw an almost complete reduction in key biomarkers from the several patients that had taken the treatment. The condition, also known as acute myeloid leukemia (AML), is a type of blood cancer where the bone marrow struggles to produce healthy blood cells. While accounting for around 1% of all cancer diagnoses, AML is still a relatively prevalent condition with few treatment options besides chemotherapy.
Six of the seven patients enrolled in the study showed significant improvements, with those same size remaining enrolled for further study tests. For the most part, these patients have already received other types of treatments in the past. Besides that, there were no adverse reactions or safety concerns seen so far, although that’s relatively common for such small patient sample sizes.
“Historically, monotherapy studies in AML and MDS have proven underwhelming; monotherapy studies in a relapsed/refractory setting have been especially challenging,” said James Dentzer, CEO and President of Curis in an official press release. “We also have been pleased by the pace at which our trial partners have been able to enroll patients. We look forward to continuing to advance CA-4948 and reporting additional Phase 1 data in the second half of 2021.”
While still early phase 1 data, the results so far have been extremely encouraging. This type of leukemia is especially difficult to treat, with there still being little in the way of available treatments on the market. While hopes for Curis’ drug are high, statistically, the majority of the early-stage clinical program ends up in failure.
Shares of Curis shot up by over 350% on Tuesday, making it the best performing stock of the day by a wide margin. Since the beginning of the year, Curis has remained steady around a $2 stock price, largely ignored by investors given its small size and insignificance in regards to the coronavirus situation. Whether or not this particular drug will be the blockbuster Curis needs is yet to be seen, but over the company’s 20-year history, its stock price has sunk big time.
Curis Company Profile
Curis Inc is a biotechnology company that develops and commercializes innovative drugs and therapies in the immuno-oncology and precision oncology therapeutic areas. The company targets solid tumors, diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, advanced solid tumors or lymphomas, hematological cancers, and others. Its pipeline products include Fimepinostat, CA-170, CA-4948, CA-327, and Erivedge. – Warrior Trading News
