On Wednesday, July 5, in a morning trading session, shares of Celsion Corp. (NASDAQ:$CLSN) increased almost 25% to $2.53. This jump occurred after the New Jersey-based firm disclosed the completion of the Ovation study, a Phase 1B dose escalating clinical trial that combines GEN-1, Celsion’s IL-12 gene-mediated immunotherapy, with neoadjuvant chemotherapy for the treatment of newly-diagnosed patients with stage 3 and IV ovarian cancer.
The Ovation study is what psychologists would refer to as a ‘longitudinal study’, and Celsion has stated that out of the seven patients being followed that received treatment over a year ago, “only one patient’s cancer has progressed after 11.7 months.”
“This compares favorably to the historical median progression free survival (PFS) of 12 months for newly-diagnosed patients with Stage 3 and IV ovarian cancer who undergo neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by interval debulking surgery,” Celsion explained.
At the same time, Array BioPharma (NASDAQ:$ARRY) shares rose nearly 3% to $8.96 after the Colorado-based firm stated that it has submitted two new drug applications to the United States FDA for the combination of binimetinib 45 mg twice daily and encorafenib 450 mg once daily for patients suffering from BRAF-mutant advanced melanoma.
Other biotech movers include BeiGene Ltd. (NASDAQ:$BGNE), whose American depository receipts increased 4% before the open but dropped 4.6% in the morning trading session to $51.87. BeiGene stated that the first patient was dosed in a clinical study in China of BGB-A317 in patients with bladder cancer. The goal of the study is to evaluate BGB-A317 in Chinese patients who have been previously treated, PD-L1-positive, locally advanced or metastatic urothelial cancer.
In addition, GB-A317 is also being evaluated in a study in China in patients with refractory or relapsed classical Hodgkin lymphoma.
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