Race Oncology Ltd (ASX: RAC) shares are on form and racing higher on Monday.
In afternoon trade, the ASX All Ords share is up over 16% to $1.81.
This means that the oncology company's shares are now up an impressive 130% since this time last month.
Why is this ASX All Ords share surging on Monday?
Investors have been buying the company's shares today following the announcement of the appointment of its new chief financial officer (CFO).
According to the release, the company has named Brendan Brown as its new CFO, effective from Monday 1 April 2024, succeeding Ms Christina Manfre.
The release notes that Brown is a partner and director of Prime Accounting & Business Advisory, which is part of the Prime Financial Group (ASX: PFG).
Race Oncology highlights that he brings significant practical experience to the company, having worked with numerous life science clients through the past 20 years. In addition, Brown is a chartered accountant, and registered tax agent with a Bachelor of Commerce in Accounting from La Trobe University.
The company's CEO, Dr Daniel Tillett, was pleased with the appointment. He commented:
We thank Christina for her time with Race and welcome Brendan to his new role as Race CFO. Race has had a productive working relationship with Prime over the last two years being responsible for Race's successful R&D Tax Incentive claims. We are pleased to be expanding our engagement with both Brendan and Prime as we advance our new formulation of bisantrene in the clinic in 2024.
Why such a jump?
While I'm sure the appointment has gone down well with shareholders, it's unlikely to be the real reason for the ASX All Ords share's strong rise today.
As I mentioned at the top, Race Oncology's shares have been on fire this month. This has been driven by excitement around the potential of its bisantrene product.
Earlier this month, the ASX All Ords share revealed that bisantrene has shown potent activity in a range of patient-derived primary acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells and in mouse models of AML.
The combination of bisantrene and decitabine was found to exhibit robust anticancer synergy in both cell and mouse AML models. In addition, key cellular pathways targeted by bisantrene were identified, further supporting the use of bisantrene in combination with decitabine as a low intensity treatment for AML patients.
Overall, management believes preclinical data is "highly supportive of clinical trials of the new bisantrene formulation (RC220) combined with oral decitabine, as a low intensity treatment approach, for AML patients."
