Enanta Pharmaceuticals said its experimental respiratory syncytial virus treatment significantly quickened recovery in a mid-stage study of adults at high risk of complications from the infection.
The Monday announcement boosted shares of the drug developer by 40%.
The oral drug, zelicapavir, however, failed to meet the main study goal of improving the time taken to resolve certain symptoms of lower respiratory tract disease associated with RSV infection.
RSV is a common respiratory virus that causes seasonal infections such as the flu. It is a major cause of pneumonia and death in infants and older adults.
All RSV symptoms in patients on zelicapavir resolved 2.2 days faster than a placebo, and 6.7 days faster in the high-risk group, which had people who either had congestive heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or were aged 75 or above, the company said.
"We believe the trial results validate there is a high likelihood that Zelicapavir is an approvable RSV therapeutic product," said H.C. Wainwright analyst Brandon Folkes.
With an estimated two to three million cases of RSV annually among high-risk adults in the U.S., even modest market penetration translates to a very significant commercial opportunity, Folkes said.
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