Biopharma firm Adaptimmune spikes 330% after posting positive results for 4 tumor indicators

• Biopharma company Adaptimmune spiked as much as 338% in Monday trading after announcing "partial responses" (PRs) in four tumor indicators.
• The company's SPEAR T-cell platform delivered two confirmed PRs in patients with liver cancer and melanoma, according to a Monday statement.
• The platform also boasted two unconfirmed PRs in patients with gastro-esophageal junction cancer and head and neck cancer.
• The responses show the platform "is clearly active and can overcome the challenges of treating a range of solid tumors," CEO Adrian Rawcliffe said.
• Watch Adaptimmune trade live here.

Biopharmaceutical company Adaptimmune rocketed as much as 338% in Monday trading after announcing "partial responses" (PRs) for four tumor indicators.

The company's SPEAR T-cell platform delivered two confirmed PRs in patients with liver cancer and melanoma, according to a Monday statement. The platform also boasted two unconfirmed PRs in patients with gastro-esophageal junction cancer and head and neck cancer. A partial response is defined as a 30% or greater reduction in tumor size.

"These responses demonstrate that our proprietary SPEAR T-cell platform is clearly active and can overcome the challenges of treating a range of solid tumors with a T-cell therapy product," CEO Adrian Rawcliffe, said in the statement.

The confirmed PR in the liver cancer patient involved a 100% decrease in targeted lesions, the company said, while the confirmed PR in the melanoma patient involved a 42% decrease in lesions. The unconfirmed PRs included a 42% reduction in target legions in the gastro-esophageal junction cancer patient and a 36% decrease in the target legions in the head-and-neck cancer patient.

The most adverse effects for those utilizing the T-cell platform are "consistent with those typically experienced by cancer patients under cytotoxic chemotherapy or other cancer immunotherapies," Adaptimmune said. Additional trials and durability information is required to confirm which therapies are best suited for further development, the company added.

Both Roth Capital Partners and Cowen initiated coverage on Adaptimmune on Monday, issuing buy and outperform ratings, respectively.

Adaptimmune stock traded at $4.40 per share as of 2:55 p.m. ET Monday, up roughly 288% year-to-date.

The company has three "buy" ratings, four "hold" ratings, and no "sell" ratings from analysts, with a consensus price target of $5.25, according to Bloomberg data.

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