UPDATE 1-Spherix says diabetes drug shows promise, shares soar

* Says mid-stage results show positive preliminary data

* Expects to complete mid-stage trial in early 2010

* Shares rise more than two-fold

June 24 (Reuters) - Spherix Inc (SPEX.O) said its experimental type 2 diabetes drug, Naturlose, showed positive preliminary data from a mid-stage study, driving its shares up more than two-fold.

Type 2 diabetes occurs when the body loses its ability to use insulin to convert food to fuel. Hemoglobin A1c, or HbA1c, is a measure of the level of glucose in the blood over a period of time. The company compared a 5 g and a 7.5 g dose of Naturlose against a 2.5 g dose over six months, and said patients saw their HbA1c levels dip 0.05 percent and 0.30 percent, respectively.

The primary endpoint for the study is a reduction in HbA1c levels after six months on the drug, Spherix said. The mid-stage trial is expected to be completed in early 2010, it added.

The company said it was also testing a 15 g dose of the drug in patients in a late-stage study. Spherix, which runs a biotechnology unit Biospherics Inc and Spherix Consulting Inc, said the drug was well tolerated and common adverse events in the mid-stage trials were mild and gastrointestinal in nature.

Shares of the company rose to $2.67, their highest in two years, before shedding some gains to trade up 92 cents at $1.93 Wednesday afternoon on Nasdaq. (Reporting by Vidya L Nathan in Bangalore; Editing by Anne Pallivathuckal)