Shares of Rapport Therapeutics catapulted on Monday after the biotech company's experimental drug significantly reduced seizures in patients with a hard-to-treat form of epilepsy.
The company tested its drug, RAP-219, in patients with focal onset seizures. These seizures occur in a specific area of the brain. Rapport noted it studied RAP-219 in patients who didn't respond to other seizure treatments and had an implanted medical device, called an RNS system, to help control their seizures.
After eight weeks, patients who took Rapport's daily pill had a 77.8% reduction in seizures. Nearly a quarter of patients, 24%, didn't have any seizures during the study.
On the stock market today, Rapport Therapeutics shares skyrocketed 119.2%, closing at 31.47. Earlier shares hit a record high at 42.27, up more than 194%.
Mild, Moderate Side Effects
Jacqueline French, the principal investigator of the study, notes up to 40% of patients with focal epilepsy continue to experience seizures. French is a professor in the Department of Neurology at NYU Langone Health's Comprehensive Epilepsy Center.
"This trial represents the first time a novel anti-seizure medication was evaluated in focal patients using the RNS system with an objective biomarker for seizure activity," she said in a written statement.
Notably, there were no serious side effects in the study. All treatment-related side effects were mild or moderate, with 10% of patients dropping out due to side effects. The most common side effects were dizziness, headache, fatigue, falling, nausea and sleepiness.
Shares of Rapport Therapeutics went public in mid-2024, but quickly dropped off, hitting a low point at 6.43 this March. Since then, Rapport stock has climbed modestly. The move Monday helped shares bound off their 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
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