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.
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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.
