Shares in medicinal cannabis company Incannex Healthcare Ltd (ASX: IHL) chugged along nicely on Tuesday to start off the ney year 12% higher at 70 cents.
It was a busy time in 2021 for the company, filled with plenty of upside and downside drivers throughout the year. Nevertheless, Incannex shares were outperformers last year.
Whilst there's been no price-sensitive information released by the company today, investors have been driving its share price up north in an almost vertical fashion over the past few sessions. Here are the details.
Why did the Incannex share price charge higher today?
Investors began buying Incannex in late December after it had completed dosing of participants in a phase 2 clinical trial investigating its cannabinoid combination product, IHL-42X, for the treatment of obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA).
The trial assessed 3 doses of IHL-42X at reducing the apnoea hypopnoea index (AHI) – the main diagnostic criteria for OSA – compared to placebo in patients.
As reported previously by The Motley Fool, the phase 2 trial cohort has now completed the treatment and data is being analysed by a contract research organization. Delivery of the final clinical study report is anticipated in Q1 2022.
The Company also announced that it has commenced preparation of a pre-Investigational New Drug (IND) meeting package.
As such, Incannex says it is targeting a pre-IND meeting with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in Q1 2022.
Investors have relished both updates and have bid up the company's share price 47% at rapid pace since it was released.
Adding more fuel to the engine are strengths in the wider biotech sector today. The S&P/ASX 200 Health Care Index (XHJ) is 1.3% in the green, however, many non-constituent names like Incannex are outperforming this afternoon.
And investors are chasing a position in Incannex with authority today, with the volume of shares traded now over 300% of the 4-week trading volume.
As the market digests the oncoming of a new year, filled with new trials and tribulations, Incannex is off to a flying start and taking a step in the right direction.
Incannex share price summary
In the past 12 months, the Incannex share price has gained over 366% after climbing 32% in this last month alone.
Over the previous 5 trading days, it has spiked 27% and has outpaced the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO)'s return on each of these time frames.
