Isis Pharma stock leaps, as investigational drug shown to reduce triglycerides in Ph II study

US biotech firm Isis Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: ISIS) saw its shares leap as much as 22% to $26.89 on Monday, after the company revealed that it investigation drug reduced triglycerides in blood and increased the level of "good" cholesterol.

Isis announced data from the Phase II study of ISIS-APOCIIIRx at the American Diabetes Association Scientific Sessions in Chicago, showing that  patients with high triglycerides and type 2 diabetes experienced an 88% reduction in apolipoprotein C-III (apoC-III), a 72% reduction in triglyceride levels, a 40% increase in high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), the “good” cholesterol, and improvements in other atherogenic lipid parameters.

In addition, patients dosed with ISIS-APOCIIIRx showed consistent trends toward enhanced insulin sensitivity with improvements in multiple measures of glucose control. Isis is also evaluating ISIS-APOCIIIRx in a separate Phase 2 study in patients with moderate to severe high triglycerides and plans to report data from this study this summer.