Shares of biotech company Infinity Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: INFI) are soaring through the roof on Thursday following the company's release of data from a phase 2 clinical trial for one of its pipeline candidates. As of 12:03 p.m. EST, the drugmaker's stock was up by 21%, after jumping by as much as 51.4% earlier today.
The trial in question investigated the safety and efficacy of the combination of Infinity Pharmaceuticals' eganelisib with nivolumab (a cancer treatment marketed as Opdivo by Bristol Myers Squibb ) in patients with advanced urothelial cancer. During the study, the combination therapy demonstrated an increased immune activation and a decreased immune suppression compared to treatment with nivolumab alone.
The results were even more pronounced for PD-L1 negative patients (PD-L1 is a type of protein), which is an important factor. According to the lead study investigator Piotr Tomczak, PD-L1 low patients "represent the majority of metastatic urothelial cancer population." The combination of eganelisib and nivolumab was also well tolerated at the 30 mg once per day dose; during the study, the median average daily dose was 31.5 mg.
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Why Infinity Pharmaceuticals Is Skyrocketing Today