A little-known biopharma firm surges 17% after getting FDA approval for the first-ever peanut allergy treatment
- Aimmune Therapeutics stock surged ahead of market open Monday, after the FDA announced Friday it had approved Aimmune's peanut allergy treatment for children.
- It's the first such treatment to gain approval from the FDA.
- Shares jumped as much as 17% Monday morning.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
The Food and Drug Administration has approved for the first time a drug that treats peanut allergies in children. That sent shares of Aimmune Therapeutics - the maker of the new treatment - flying.
Shares jumped as high as 17% in early trading on Monday.
The drug, called Palforzia, aims to reduce the effects of unintentional peanut exposure, the company said in a statement Friday. Patients between the ages of 4 and 17 are eligible to begin the treatment, according to the Food and Drug Administraton.
Antihistamines and epi-pens can be used to treat a sudden allergic reaction, the FDA said in a Friday statement, but they are not always enough to mitigate a severe reaction.
"Palforzia provides an FDA-approved treatment option to help reduce the risk of these allergic reactions in children with peanut allergy," Peter Marks, director of the FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, said in the statement.
Aimmune Therapeutics produces treatments for life-threatening food allergies, according to the company's website.
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