- Micro cap Oncothyreon (ONTY +31.8%) jumps on a 6x surge in volume in another example of investors falling all over themselves to establish positions in companies that have submitted abstracts for presentation at the upcoming American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) meeting in Chicago, May 29 - June 2. Overeager punters are buying on news of positive study results, even from early-stage trials.
- In ONTY's case, the enthusiasm is in response to Abstract #602, which summarizes a Phase 1b study of ONT-380, a small molecule inhibitor of HER2, a growth factor rector that is over-expressed in cancers such as breast, ovarian and stomach. The company licensed it from Array BioPharma (ARRY -0.1%) in December.
- The study assessed the safety of the triplet regimen of ONT-380 + capecitabine + trastuzumab (Roche's Herceptin) as third-line therapy in patients with HER2+ metastatic breast cancer. Eight patients received two - eight cycles of treatment. The dosing regimen was well tolerated without causing grade 3 diarrhea. Preliminary efficacy was demonstrated by four partial responders, two with stable disease and two who progressed.
- Study results will be presented on the morning of May 30.
- Previously: Oncothyreon secures exclusive license to HER2 inhibitor (Dec. 12, 2014)