Cancer fighting is no small thing these days, even if smaller biotech stocks like Immutep (NASDAQ:IMMP) are taking a run at it. The latest news out of Immutep’s attempt at cancer treatment is looking very nice indeed. In fact, it prompted a huge jump in its share price in Wednesday’s trading. The news that prompted such a spark featured a combination effort to take on non-small cell lung cancer.
In a Phase II trial, the combination of eftilagimod alpha—more commonly known as “efti”—and Merck’s (NYSE:MRK) pembrolizumab, otherwise known as Keytruda, delivered some excellent results on survivability. Several key points emerged around just how effective, but enough to say that the addition of efti to Keytruda turned the pair into a comparative powerhouse, driving better immune system responses in fighting off cancer.
In fact, the combination proved better than certain rates for both anti-PD-1 monotherapy and other immune checkpoint inhibitors. But these are still fairly early studies, and even the early testing has a minimum follow-up period of 14 months. That’s why subsequent tests may expand out to three-year results as well as even five-year results.
A look at the past five trading days for IMMP stock highlights the level of impact today’s news had on it. Indeed, shares jumped over 64%. As a result, investors are now up 60.87% during this timeframe.
