Why Spectrum Pharmaceuticals Stock Soared in October

Spectrum Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: SPPI), a small-cap oncology company, saw its shares gain a whopping 39.2% in October, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence. The drugmaker's stock took flight after the company announced positive interim results from a midstage study assessing poziotinib in patients with EGFR-positive non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Poziotinib's preliminary NSCLC data were presented at the World Conference on Lung Cancer in Japan in mid-October.

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Because lung cancer remains the most common malignancy in the world, poziotinib should be able to rack up several hundred million in annual sales even as a niche product (patients that express this particular subtype of NSCLC). And that's certainly a big deal for a company that's projected to generate only $131 million in revenue next year.

Source: Fool.com