Shares of Chinese biotech company Zai Lab Limited (NASDAQ: ZLAB) were up more than 59.2% for the week as of Thursday afternoon, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence . The stock closed at $30.70 on Friday and rose to as high as $49.81 on Thursday. Zai Lab has a 52-week low of $20.98 and a 52-week high of $61.29. The stock is down more than 43% over the past year.
Zai Lab focuses on therapies to treat cancer, autoimmune disorders, infectious diseases, and neurological disorders. The driving force for the huge run was the announcement before the markets opened on Thursday that Zai and Swiss pharmaceutical company Novocure (NASDAQ: NVCR) 's therapy, Tumor Treating Fields (TTFields), had met its primary endpoint in a phase-3 clinical trial to treat stage-4 non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients who have had or are on chemotherapy. The treatment, combined with immune checkpoint inhibitors, showed clinically significant tumor reduction compared to just using checkpoint inhibitors alone.
Based on the results, Novocure said it planned to file a premarket approval application with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the second half of the year. Zai Lab would market the drug in China, where it said lung cancer is the most commonly diagnosed form of cancer and the leading cause of cancer deaths.
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Why Shares of Zai Lab Soared This Week