Why Puma Biotechnology's Shares Jumped 20% on Monday
Shares of Puma Biotechnology (NASDAQ: PBYI) rose 20% on Monday. The stock closed trading Friday at $3.75 and opened at the same price on Monday. However, it rose to its 52-week high of $4.59 in the late afternoon before easing back to $4.50 at the close. The stock is up more than 48% so far this year.
The biopharmaceutical company specializes in cancer therapies. Its stock got a boost on Monday when a Takeda Pharmaceutical (NYSE: TAK) candidate, ponatinib, hit its primary goal in a phase 3 clinical trial as a treatment for Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia. The blood cancer therapy works by slowing the activity of BCR-ABL1, a gene sequence found in an abnormal chromosome 22, often seen in people with certain types of leukemia.
Just two months ago, those two companies reached a licensing agreement regarding Takeda's candidate therapy alisertib, which is being studied as a possible treatment for breast cancer and non-small cell lung cancer, among other cancer indications. Puma paid $7 million in upfront fees and agreed to pay up to $287.3 million more in milestone payments for commercial rights to the drug.
Source Fool.com
