Shares of Onyx Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ONXX) are up 17 percent to stand at $25.30 as of 11:53 am [ET] after earlier rallying as much as 20 percent to $25.42, the highest intraday PPS since June 14. The Emeryville, Calif.-based drugmaker reported positive clinical trial results from a phase 2b study for its experimental drug carfilzomib, a selective, next generation proteasome inhibitor, in patients with relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma.
The co. said carfilzomib, tested by Onyx on 266 patients, resulted in a 36% clinical benefit rate (minimal response of greater) for patients with advanced multiple myeloma whose cancer had failed all other treatments. The study found that 24 percent of the patients responded to carfilzomib for a median duration of 7.4 months.
In a statement, Onyx CEO Tony Coles, said the drug “has the potential to be an important therapy in multiple myeloma and exemplifies the Onyx vision to build a leading oncology company by developing innovative targeted therapies.” According to Coles, carfilzomib, if approved, has the potential to rake in a billion dollars in annual sales.
Onyx plans to use the study results, released on Monday, as the basis for a new drug application at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration before the end of the year.
Shares of Onyx are up on the session by 17.86, currently trading at $25.34. The stock had traded as high as $36.59 earlier this year.
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