Shares in cancer treatment specialist Sirtex Medical (SRX) surged 35% to $27, a rise of just over $7, after the company yesterday revealed better news about survival rates for liver cancer patients using its novel radioactive spheres treatment.
Before the start to trading on the exchange yesterday, the company disclosed improved progression-free survival rates of tumours in the liver – an extra 7.9 months of survival, to 20.5 months when treated with its spheres in combination with chemotherapy.
Around 5.5% of the company’s shares changed hands yesterday in frenzied trading that left the share up strongly on the day, but still well under the all time high close of $39.13 in mid-March, just before the release of partial data from a key clinical trial which is aimed at boosting the use of its treatment from a salvage therapy to a primary treatment for liver cancer.
Those preliminary results in March from the same study showed no statistically significant improvement in overall progression free survival rates for sufferers treated with its radioactive spheres – news which saw the shares plunge 50%, cutting Sirtex’s value by around $1 billion in a day.
SRX 1Y – Sirtex shares jump on cancer trial results
The March report from the company related to existing tumours along with new tumours, which may have emerged in other organs or parts of the body.
But the shares have rebounded since March, in expectation of good news in the more comprehensive trial results released yesterday prior to a presentation at the American Society for Clinical Oncology conference.
“The reduction in the risk of tumour progression in the liver, coupled with the statistically significant nature of the result is encouraging,” Sirtex chief executive, Gilman Wong said in yesterday’s statement.
Additionally, Sirtex told the ASX that has continued to enjoy strong product sales, with sales in March and April hitting record monthly levels.
Overall, unit sales in the ten months to the end of April were up 22%.
