Leading biotech stock Abivax jumped Monday on compelling test results for its experimental ulcerative colitis treatment.
The company tested its drug, obefazimod, in patients with ulcerative colitis. Ulcerative colitis is a form of inflammatory bowel disease. It causes inflammation and ulcers in the lining of the colon. This often leads to gastrointestinal symptoms.
Patients taking obefazimod began entering remission after eight weeks, Abivax said in a news release. That included some heavily pretreated patients whose symptoms worsened while taking four previous ulcerative colitis treatments. Leerink Partners analyst Thomas Smith described the results as "compelling."
"We continue to believe that obe features the most compelling late-stage clinical profile for a novel oral agent in (inflammatory bowel disease), with growing strategic appeal amid heightened (mergers and acquisitions/business development) activity that underscores large pharma's interest in the space," he said in a client note.
Abivax shares surged 3.3%, closing at 86.67.
The biotech stock has a perfect IBD Digital Relative Strength Rating of 99. The RS Rating pits a stock's 12-month performance against all other stocks. Part of Abivax's top-rated strength comes from an offering in July that sent shares almost 600% higher in a single day.
Abivax Stock Nears A Record High
The results support use of obefazimod across the treatment spectrum — from patients who've never received treatment for ulcerative colitis to those who've worsened while trying a multitude of other drugs, Leerink's Schwartz said.
In the heavily pretreated group, 10% more obefazimod recipients entered clinical remission than the placebo group. Among never-before-treated patients, obefazimod topped the placebo by 23% when it came to clinical remission.
This "compares well across the oral and biologic (inflammatory bowel disease) landscape and further strengthens obe's unique clinical profile as an effective, safe and convenient once-daily oral (first-line and greater) therapy in UC," Schwartz said.
He also noted obefazimod led to improvements in other goals of the study.
Schwartz rates the biotech stock an outperform.
Follow Allison Gatlin on X/Twitter at @AGatlin_IBD.
