The Orthocell Ltd (ASX: OCC) share price is soaring today following news of clinical study success.
At the time of writing, the Orthocell share price is trading hands at 58 cents, up 12.62%.
Orthocell is developing new medical devices and cellular therapies to help people recover from injury.
Why is the share price surging?
It appears investors are responding to positive results from a clinical trial into the use of one of Orthocell's lead products, OrthoATI.
In today's release, Orthocell said its data confirmed this product could safely reduce pain in patients suffering from rotator cuff tears. OrthoATI is more effective than steroid injections for treating this injury, according to the company.
Orthocell now plans to speed up its commercialisation plans for OrthoATI in the United States, including conducting a study in front of the Food and Drug Administration.
Orthocell told the market today it believed it could use its OrthoATI treatment to help 480,000 patients per year in the US alone. The company sees this as a US$4 to $5 billion market opportunity (AU $5.6 to $7 billion).
Management commentary
Orthocell managing director Paul Anderson welcomed the news, saying it was an important milestone. He added:
We are absolutely delighted with the study results for this challenging and debilitating condition which clearly demonstrates that OrthoATI is more effective than steroid injection for treatment of rotator cuff tendinopathy with intrasubstance tendon tear.
We are now in a very strong position to progress our US commercialisation strategy to deliver the first injectable cell therapy in orthopaedics that truly addresses the cause of degeneration and returns patients to full use of their chronically damaged tendons.
Orthocell share price snapshot
The Orthocell share price has lifted more than 38% in the past 12 months and is up 27.78% this year to date.
In contrast, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has returned nearly 11% in the past year.
Shares in the company reached a 52-week high of 66 cents, while the low was 40.5 cents.
