Why the Race Oncology share price opened 75% higher this morning

The Race Oncology Ltd (ASX: RAC) share price has shot out of the gates this morning on the back of positive clinical trial results.

Race Oncology shares opened 74.6% higher today and raced to an intra-day high of 60 cents in early trade – a 90.48% surge. Shares have slightly pulled back since and are sitting 65.08% higher at the time of writing at 52 cents.

Race Oncology is a pharmaceutical company with a focus on later-stage drug assets in the cancer field. Its flagship product is a cancer drug called Bisantrene. The company is currently pursuing a ‘5-Path’ clinical development strategy that involves parallel US and Australian clinical trials for Bisantrene in acute myeloid leukaemia (AML), breast cancer and ovarian cancer.

Why is the Race Oncology share price skyrocketing?

This morning, Race Oncology reported clinical data from the Phase II clinical trial of Bisantree conducted at Israel’s Sheba Medical Centre.

The open label, single agent trial studied 10 patients with relapsed or refractory AML who, on average, had failed three prior lines of treatment. Race Oncology stated that Bisantree was found to be “well tolerated” and after a single course of treatment, had an overall clinical response rate of 40%.

According to Race, relapsed or refractory AML remains a significant therapeutic challenge. While meaningful therapeutic gains have been achieved in recent years with the introduction of new targeted drugs, the company believes clinical outcomes are still unsatisfactory.

Commenting on the trial results, Professor Borje Andersson, chair of Race’s advisory board, said:

“Importantly, in this study we saw a meaningful reduction in leukaemic disease burden and an overall response rate in 40% of the patients. While we must study the drug further, it appears that with this kind of response, bisantrene based therapy may have potential to serve as an important bridge to an allogeneic stem cell transplantation in patients who otherwise have few therapeutic options.”

What next?

Executive chair Dr John Cullity also shared his thoughts, commenting: “This drug is talking to us. As this was an open label, single agent trial, we can be confident that it was the bisantrene exposure which generated the positive results.”

“The patient cohort had advanced AML and had previously failed an average of three lines of therapy, so they were always going to be tough to treat. A 40% overall response rate after only a single course of treatment markedly exceeds expectations. It’s a hugely promising result and one which reinforces our development plans for bisantrene.”

In line with Race’s ‘5-Path’ clinical development strategy, a follow-up study combining Bisantrene with other anti-leukemic drugs is currently in advanced planning.

The company will also hold an investor briefing to discuss the significance of the trial results in more detail on Wednesday, 17 June.

With a current share price of 52 cents, Race Oncology’s market capitalisation is sitting at around $60 million. So if you’re looking to invest in larger and more liquid companies, check out the top ASX growth shares in the report below.

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Motley Fool contributor Cathryn Goh has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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