Photo

Reuters Photojournalism

Our day's top images, in-depth photo essays and offbeat slices of life. See the best of Reuters photography.  See more | Photo caption 

Photo

Berlusconi's women

A look at the women linked to former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.  Slideshow 

Photo

Harvesting tobacco

With the increasing health concerns with smoking in the U.S., traditional tobacco farmers sell their crop to growing markets outside the country.  Slideshow 

Sponsored Links

Synta Pharma shares soar after co says to expand breast cancer study

Mon Jul 29, 2013 1:21pm EDT

(Reuters) - Synta Pharmaceuticals Corp shares soared as much as 47 percent in heavy trading after the company said preliminary results from a mid-stage study of its drug ganetespib in breast cancer patients supported an expansion of the study.

According to the design of the trial, it would advance to the second stage of enrollment if at least one patient achieved objective tumor response, a measure of reduction in tumor size.

The study, codenamed ENCHANT-1, showed that four patients achieved an objective tumor response.

"We believe these data are important in driving both the potential in multiple tumor types as well as partnering potential," Roth Capital analyst Joseph Pantginis wrote in a client note.

The company said it would continue to enroll up to 33 patients in each of the two patient groups being tested in the study.

The trial will now evaluate a combination of ganetespib and a widely used cancer drug called paclitaxel.

Ganetespib blocks a protein which assists other proteins involved in tumor development and progression in many solid cancers and blood cancers.

The company is also testing the drug in combination with another cancer drug in a late-stage trial for lung cancer. The drug is also being tested in patients with colorectal and blood cancers.

Synta shares were up 35 percent at $6.86 in afternoon trading on the Nasdaq. The stock touched a high of $7.45 earlier.

More than 14 million shares changed hands by 1310 ET, eight times the stock's 10-day average trading volume.

(Reporting By Vrinda Manocha in Bangalore; Editing by Maju Samuel)

 
We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/
Comments (0)
Be the first to comment on reuters.com.
Add yours using the box above.