Shares in nanotechnology and biotech company Imagion Biosystems Ltd (ASX: IBX) charged higher today to finish 14% in the green. The Imagion Biosystems share price jumped from the open following a company response to a query from the ASX.
The ASX wanted to know why the company's share price spiked – in almost vertical fashion – over 40% from Friday's close to finish at 10 cents on Tuesday.
Imagion provided its answers in a detailed response to the ASX that was posted before the open today.
Here are the details.
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What's up with the Imagion Biosystems share price lately?
Backtracking to the final week of October, Imagion released its quarterly report, covering several investment highlights.
The company, which specialises in medical diagnostic imaging technology, advised it had now enrolled multiple patients into a Phase 1 study of its novel imaging agent MagSense.
The study is investigating the safety of MagSense in its intended use, as a non-invasive alternative to detect early-stage HER2 breast cancer.
It also partnered with Global Cancer Technology during the quarter. The pair will develop Global Cancer's nanoscintillator technology, also potentially indicated in breast cancer albeit on the treatment side.
Imagion is set to receive funding from Global Cancer Technology as the pair combine technologies to search for a breakthrough in the disease segment.
Imagion also funded its first animal studies investigating MagSense as an imaging solution for prostate cancer.
The market appeared to have a delayed reaction to Imagion's quarterly update. From the close of trading last Friday to Tuesday's close, the Imagion Biosystems share price roared from 7.1 cents to a 3-month high of 10 cents.
It is this market activity that had the ASX contacting Imagion in search of some answers.
In a standard compliance letter from the ASX's Melissa Kostopoulous, the company was asked to explain any possible causes for the gain.
"Is IBX aware of any information concerning it that has not been announced to the market which, if known by some in the market, could explain the recent trading in its securities?"
How did Imagion respond?
The company replied that it was not aware of any such information. It did, however, make mention of the recent quarterly update, and in particular, the additional enrolments into its MagSense Phase 1 trial.
This is important to note because earlier in the year, Imagion had announced it was having difficulty achieving this due to COVID-19.
Even though the first patients had been enrolled, capturing further study participants was proving a challenge for Imagion.
Hence, the announcement it had secured additional patients in the study cohort can be deemed as a net positive for the company. This could have had an impact on its share price, the company said.
Imagion concluded that it is in fact in compliance with all ASX listing rules and requirements.
Imagion Biosystems share price snapshot
The Imagion Biosystems share price has posted a loss of almost 34% since January 1.
Yet, despite this, it has returned 18% to shareholders over the past 12 months. This is ahead of the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index (ASX: XJO)'s return of around 14.5% in that time.
