The Imugene Ltd (ASX: IMU) share price is exploding today on the back of phase two trial results.
Imugene shares have soared a mammoth 30.3% to 21.5 cents each at the time of writing after hitting a high of 23.5 cents a share today. For perspective, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is up 1.72% so far today.
So what did the immuno-oncology company announce today?
'Statistically significant' data
Imugene reported positive survival rates among advanced gastric cancer patients treated with HER-Vaxx. HER-VAxx is a B-cell immunotherapy candidate for treatment of tumours over-expressing the HER-2/neu protein.
Patients treated with HER-Vaxx were found to have a 41.5% less chance of death than if they had just been given chemotherapy.
Overall, the median survival for patients treated with HER-Vaxx was 13.9 months. This compared to 8.3 months for those patients only given chemotherapy.
Imugene highlighted the trial result affirms a "favourable survival outcome with no further toxicity for the use of HER-Vaxx combined with chemotherapy compared to just treatment with chemotherapy".
Commenting on today's results, Imugene CEO Leslie Chong said:
I am delighted to report that we have achieved this significant milestone for patients with advanced gastric cancer.
The final analysis favoured the survival outcome for HER-Vaxx and I note the Independent Data Monitoring Committee previously suggested to shorten the study by lowering the number of patients.
In more positive news, the company has received approval to use a 100 microgram dose of the HER-Vaxx in further studies to start soon.
This higher dose could improve antibody generation and, therefore, the clinical response to HER-Vaxx.
Imugene share price snapshot
The Imugene share price has lost 41% in the past 12 months, while it has fallen around 45% year to date.
For perspective, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has lost nearly 10% in a year.
Imugene has a market capitalisation of about $1.3 billion based on the current share price.
