What a way to start off the week! If you’re an investor, and you’re looking to spice up your investment portfolio, why not invest in some biotech stocks? Considering the industry has been doing quite well lately, with the market remaining fairly optimistic that 2018 will see an increase in both acquisitions and approval from the Food and Drug Administration, and Tuesday’s news just adds to that optimism, investing in biotech stocks might prove to be worthwhile.
So, what happened on Tuesday? After two small-cap biotech companies disclosed positive findings, the two stocks surged, with one being up, at the time of writing, more than 150%.
Pain Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTIE)
Under the leadership of CEO Remi Barbier, Austin, Texas-based biopharmaceutical company Pain Therapeutics has kept reasonably busy, announcing in September of 2017 that it was awarded a $1.8M research grant from National Institute, and postings its Q3 2017 financial earnings on November 1.
But what caused the more than 130% surge today? It all started after Pain Therapeutics announced positive results from a study regarding its primary clinical drug candidate, REMOXY.
It’s not entirely surprising that the news caused a stir among investors considering it was only on October 30 of last year Pain Therapeutics disclosed that it would be meeting with the FDA, and it was only on December 18 of 2017 the company announced a positive regulatory meeting for the candidate REMOXY.
In the press release issued Tuesday morning, Pain Therapeutics announced some news that I’m sure the company and its shareholders were longing to hear: those participating in the study, all of which were recreational, non-dependent users of opioid, showed lower abuse when given REMOXY via nasal administration compared to IR oxycodone.
As of this writing, Pain Therapeutics is trading at $10.72, which puts the stock up $6.50, or a whopping 154%. The stock can be seen increasing a few cents every second or so. It will be interesting to see if the stock can maintain this growth throughout the trading day, leading up to the closing bell.
GT Biopharma (OTCMKTS:GTBP)
Meanwhile, GT Biopharma, headquartered in Washington, D.C., updated its shareholders on its Phase 1 clinical trial that focuses on GTP-004, announcing that it has finished dosing in the trial.
While the results are still fairly early, Dr. Kathleen Clarence-Smith, CEO, stated that these results indicate very positive data going forward and that the company forecasts it will soon be a position to commence a Phase 2 trial towards the end of this year.
As of this writing, GT Biopharma is trading a $5.12, putting the stock up $0.62, or 13.78%.
The Takeaway
GT Biopharma might not be on the level that Pain Therapeutics is on, but the company still deserves some credit, as a nearly 15% increase is still a great way to start the trading week.
Keep checking back in throughout January and February, and hopefully, the two companies will have provided more updates on the trials.
Featured Image: twitter
