Shares of Humanigen (NASDAQ:HGEN) stock are taking off on Monday morning after the firm reported major news for those suffering from the novel coronavirus.
The biopharmaceutical company said its lead drug candidate, lenzilumab, met its goal of improving the survival rate of Covid-19 patients without needing mechanical ventilation. According to the release, the results showed that people who received lenzilumab along with other treatments like steroids and remdesivir were 54% more likely to survive without a ventilator compared to placebo patients.
Collectively, the results proved that “the study achieved its primary endpoint of ventilator-free survival measured through day 28 following treatment.”
Cameron Durrant, MD, MBA and CEO of Humanigen, said this regarding the HGEN news.
“The results from our Phase 3 clinical trial with lenzilumab treatment were associated with better outcomes in hospitalized hypoxic COVID-19 patients who had not yet progressed to the point of requiring IMV. …Our next step is to submit an application for Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as soon as possible.”
Overall, the phase 3 study included 520 patients — 18 years and older — in 29 sites across the U.S. and Brazil. They were randomized to receive three separate infusions of either lenzilumab or the placebo along with other treatments.
HGEN stock was up 95.6% as of Monday morning.
On the date of publication, Nick Clarkson did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article.
Nick Clarkson is a web editor at InvestorPlace.
