A ray of hope shines for the sufferers of gastroesophageal junction cancer- Leap Therapeutics (NASDAQ:LPTX) has recently had a breakthrough for a treatment! They have presented initial findings from the first-line cohort of the DisTinGuish study, which is a Phase 2a clinical trial evaluating DKN-01, its anti-Dickkopf-1 (DKK1) antibody, in combination with tislelizumab, BeiGene Ltd.’s anti-PD-1 antibody, and chemotherapy.
No wonder the company’s stock soared by a whopping 105% in the past 2 weeks. The company had started this month well after a major partnership with BeiGene, but the stocks were headed downward (by almost 16%) till this announcement. It means the stock has shot up by over 30%! The data was presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress, which was a virtual event held from September 16th-21st.
CEO Cynthia Sirard, MD, stated that patients with tumors having elevated levels of DKK1 expression that can correlate with aggressive disease and poor prognosis, showed the best response rates, so the company is extremely close in predicting response to therapy. If all goes well with Leap’s work in the field of cancer treatment, there are loads of opportunities for growth. However, cautious optimism should be exercised as there are more details yet to be revealed.
Market Reaction:
On Friday, LPTX stock gained 5.31% at $3.57 with more than 13.21 million shares, compared to its average volume of 4.85 million shares. The stock has moved within a range of $3.2600 – 3.8800 after opening the trade at $3.40.
