The stock market remained volatile on Thursday, with investors reacting negatively to signs the economy was too strong for the Federal Reserve to slow its pace of rate hikes. After getting a little higher early in the morning, NASDAQ Composite (^IXIC -1.14%) Opened about 1% lower.
Nasdaq’s overall pessimism wasn’t enough to dampen excitement from the biotech sector. In fact, the good news in the fight against cancer is that Novocure (NVCR 57.17%) When Zaken (ZLAB 44.99%) It rose sharply on Thursday morning, and shareholders are pleased with the lead candidate treatment’s potential to make a difference in the lives of cancer patients.
A big win for Novocure
Novocure and Zai Lab’s stock price movements reflect just how big a deal the latest news was. Novocure soared his 58%, while Zai Lab’s stock jumped 40%.
Novocure is conducting an oncology field therapy study in treating patients with stage 4 non-small cell lung cancer, and the results announced Thursday morning were positive. The study met its primary endpoint of demonstrating a statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in overall cancer survival compared to standard of care alone. These traditional treatments included immune checkpoint inhibitors, the oncology drug docetaxel, and platinum-based chemotherapy.
William Doyle, Executive Chair of Novocure, said how big the results the study showed. The study comes six years after the last phase III clinical trial significantly improved survival in patients with end-stage non-small cell lung cancer who had failed chemotherapy alone. Novocure now hopes Tumor Treatment Fields therapy can extend survival not just for non-small cell lung cancer, but for other forms of cancer.
As a follow-up, Novocure plans to submit a premarket approval application to the US Food and Drug Administration in the second half of this year. At the same time, we will seek a CE mark in the European Union.
zai is on the team
Zai Lab is also positioned to participate in the success of Tumor Treatment Fields. Under a strategic collaboration agreement that began in 2018, Novocure agreed to grant Zai an exclusive license for its oncology field technology in the mainland as well as Greater China, including Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan. did.
At the time, one of the benefits of the partnership was opening up the Chinese market for using this therapy in approximately 45,000 patients diagnosed with glioblastoma annually. However, the collaboration also explored additional indications in the oncology area, including pancreatic, ovarian and gastric cancers. Since the agreement, Novocure and Zai have collaborated extensively, including several trials conducted specifically in Chinese patients.
still have room to run
Even if Novocure and Zai Lab’s shares rose today, some investors aren’t ready to celebrate just yet. Novocure’s rise has pushed the stock to its highest level in the past year, but the stock remains down more than 50% from his mid-2021 high. Zai Lab’s story is even more extreme, as Chinese biopharmaceutical stocks remain down more than 70% from his 18-month lows.
Nonetheless, the potential for Tumor Treatment Fields to treat a wider range of cancer indications is good news for millions of patients worldwide. As further research progresses, investors will look to Novocure and Zylab for further success.
Dan Caplinger has no positions in any of the mentioned stocks. The Motley Fool recommends Novocure. The Motley Fool’s U.S. headquarters has a disclosure policy.
