Accentia Biopharmaceuticals Shares Soar Following Data on Long-Lasting Cancer Remission

Shares of Accentia Biopharmaceuticals Inc. surged Thursday on heavy volume after the drug developer reported its BiovaxId cancer treatment caused long lasting periods of remission in patients during a clinical trial.

Accentia shares skyrocketed $1.57, or 54 percent, to $4.44 in afternoon trading on the Nasdaq, at more than 11 times its average volume. Since going public on Oct. 28, the stock has changed hands between $1.96 and $8.86.

During the clinical trial, 20 patients, or 80 percent, responded to BiovaxId following chemotherapy by having their cancer go into remission with durations of 20 months to 51 months.

Accentia's drug uses a patient's own cancer cells to formulate a therapy that primes the immune system to recognize and attack the cancer.

In the trial, the long period of remission characteristically followed a shorter first one. Patients enrolled had relapsed Follicular Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma, an immune system cancer where the disease is grouped in clusters in the lymph node.

The company recently received an orphan drug designation for BiovaxId from European regulators for Follicular Lymphoma, meaning if the drug is approved for that purpose, the company will get 10 years of marketing exclusivity.