It's been a difficult few months for shareholders of biotechnology giant Sirtex Medical Limited (ASX: SRX), but those who decided to remain patient have been rewarded today with the stock rising by as much as 35.8% to hit a high of $27.14.
The biotech's shares have been under the weather ever since it released the preliminary results for its SIRFLOX trial in March, in which the company did not achieve the trial's primary endpoint. The trial aimed to promote the use of its microsphere as a first-line treatment for liver cancer, although the results were insufficiently strong to support this scenario.
In an update to the market today however, the results confirmed an improvement in survival rates for liver cancer patients, adding an average of 7.9 months to the survival rate (a 62.7% improvement from 12.6 months to 20.5 months). At the same time, patients whose treatment included SIR-Spheres microspheres had a 31% lower risk of the tumours in their liver progressing during the time of the study period.
Sirtex also took the opportunity to provide an update on its sales figures, which are likely also a key reason behind the stock's surge today.
It said that global dose sales were up 22% in the first 10 months of this financial year (compared to the previous corresponding period), while March and April 2015 dose sales were the two highest monthly results ever recorded. CLSA increased its price target on the stock by 36% to $34.00 following the announcement.
Unfortunately, not all biotechnology companies are enjoying the same level of excitement today, with ResMed Inc. (CHESS) (ASX: RMD) plummeting by more than 18% on a poor trial result. You can read all about that here.
