Salix leaps on positive Ph III results with Xifaxan in IBS-D

US drugmaker Salix Pharmaceuticals’ (Nasdaq: SLXP) saw its shares leap as much as 13% after the company released new late-stage clinical data on its already marketed drug Xifaxan (rifaximin) bringing the stock to it to a new high, near $140.

Salix announced the successful outcome of TARGET 3 – a Phase III randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of repeat treatment with rifaximin 550mg (three times daily) for 14 days in subjects with irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhea, or IBS-D, who respond to an initial treatment course with rifaximin 550mg TID for 14 days.

In the study, a statistically-significant greater proportion of rifaximin treated subjects (as compared to placebo) responded to repeat treatment as assessed by the composite primary endpoint of IBS-related abdominal pain and stool consistency during the four week treatment-free follow-up period (Primary Evaluation Period, or PEP) in the double-blind repeat treatment phase.