The market may be dropping lower on Wednesday, but that hasn't stopped the Recce Pharmaceuticals Ltd (ASX: RCE) share price from jumping higher.
In afternoon trade the pharmaceutical company's shares are up almost 10% to $1.21.
This latest gain means the Recce share price is now up a massive 255% since the start of the year.
Why is the Recce share price jumping higher today?
Investors have been buying Recce shares on Wednesday after it announced an agreement with the Murdoch Children's Research Institute (MCRI) to conduct pre-clinical studies. The MCRI is the largest child health research institute in Australia and one of the top three worldwide for research quality and impact.
According to the release, these studies will assess the potential of RECCE 435 (R435) for the treatment of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infections.
Management notes that there is a global unmet medical need for the treatment of H. pylori with no first-line therapy curative in all patients. In fact, the most commonly used treatment is triple therapy.
This includes the use of a Protein Pump Inhibitor in combination with multiple antibiotics. However, due to the increasing prevalence of antibiotic resistant strains worldwide, the eradication rate of standard triple therapy has fallen below 80%.
The company's Non-Executive Chairman, Dr. John Prendergast, commented: "Antibiotic-resistant forms of H. pylori are on the rise. This is worrisome because more than four billion worldwide are infected with H. pylori, which is the leading cause of peptic ulcers and stomach cancer."
"We are excited to collaborate with Professor Sutton and MCRI in investigating the potential of our oral anbitiotic RECCE 435 as what could be the first non-combination treatment for H. pylori infection, including those caused by drug resistant forms of the pathogen," he concluded.
Management expects to complete the trial in approximately 12 months, after which it will pursue a human clinical trial. It notes that it is well funded to support the study program following its recent successful capital raise.
