Clovis Oncology Inc. shares doubled Monday after the Boulder-based biotechnology company reported positive early results in trials of its lung and ovarian cancer drugs.
The shares jumped 103.9 percent, or $38.01, to close at $74.59 in New York, the biggest one-day rise since the stock began trading in November 2011.
A drug for non-small-cell lung cancer, aimed at patients who have a mutation that makes the disease resistant to current treatments, showed a response in previously resistant tumors, Clovis said in a statement Monday. The drug, CO-1686, is in the first of three phases of testing typically required before U.S. regulatory approval.
“There are no approved treatment options for patients with non-small-cell lung cancer who have developed the T790M resistance mutation,” chief executive officer Patrick Mahaffy said in the statement. “We are extremely encouraged by these initial results.”
Clovis also released information on its experimental drug for ovarian cancer that showed a clinical benefit in 89 percent of patients. As of May, 37 patients had been treated with rucaparib, including 10 with ovarian tumors, 21 with breast tumors, and six others, Clovis said in a statement.
Rucaparib is in the first phase of testing, and Clovis said it may move into a second phase by the second half of the year.
“Once we identify the recommended Phase II dose, we look forward to commencing the late-stage development program in platinum-sensitive ovarian cancer,” Mahaffy said.
The data on both drugs was presented Monday at the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting in Chicago.
