French biotech stock soars 31% after new data on experimental medicine

Shares of French biotech company Abivax soared Tuesday after it released fresh data on its lead drug for bowel disease, clawing back heavy losses from earlier in the month when the same trial had investors questioning the future of the drug. Abivax stock was last trading up 31%. It came after it crashed around 44% on June 2, following a data set that showed there were cancer cases among patients taking the highest dose of its experimental medicine obefazimod. Additional data on the late-stage clinical trial, released late on Monday, showed that malignancies were in line with expected background rates. The company also said that over 37% of patients who didn't respond to treatment initially, then achieved clinical remission after treatment with a 50 mg dose, after about 10 months. "These findings suggest that a meaningful proportion of patients who do not initially respond may still derive substantial benefit from longer treatment exposure," Abivax said . The trial was a so-called maintenance study that tested remission rates among patients with ulcerative colitis over 44 weeks. The Monday update was the second, supplemental part of the Phase 3 trial. …