Puma Biotech rockets on positive results with neratinib in I-SPY 2 TRIAL

USA-based development-stage firm Puma Biotechnology (NYSE: PBYI) saw its shares leap 42% to nearly $66 in morning trading Thursday (December 5) after earlier rising as high as $72.40, up 57%, following the announcement of positive top line results from the Phase II clinical trial of Puma's investigational drug PB272 (neratinib) for the neoadjuvant treatment of breast cancer (I-SPY 2 TRIAL).

"We are very pleased to have neratinib graduate from the I-SPY 2 trial and honored to have been involved with such an innovative trial," said Alan Auerbach, chief executive and president. "This represents the first clinical data on neratinib in the neoadjuvant treatment of HER2-positive breast cancer and suggests that the combination of paclitaxel plus neratinib has potent activity for the treatment of HER2-positive breast cancer. We look forward to advancing PB272 forward for the neoadjuvant treatment of HER2-positive breast cancer and look forward to potential future involvement with the I-SPY 3 trial," he added.

Drug licensed from Pfizer

Neratinib, Puma’s sole pipeline drug, was licensed from UA pharma behemoth Pfizer (NYSE: PFE), under a deal that leaves the latter with rights to receive payments on Puma’s achievement of certain development milestones for neratinib, as well as royalty payments for any sales of neratinib (The Pharma Letter October 7, 2011).