Disc Medicine said Friday its experimental drug improved symptoms for patients with a rare disease in which sunlight causes severe pain to the skin and possible liver failure. In response, the highly rated biotech stock hit an 18-month high.
The disease is known as erythropoietic protoporphyria. It's caused by the buildup of a key metabolite. Patients who received Disc's drug, bitopertin, had consistent and dose-dependent reductions in that metabolite. Further, they reported significant improvements in sunlight tolerance and quality of life.
On today's stock market, the biotech stock rocketed 15.8% to close at 45.69.
Biotech Stock Hits 18-Month High
The study featured 22 patients in Australia who received one or two doses every day for 24 weeks. On average, patients experienced a roughly 40% reduction in levels of that metabolite.
Disc Medicine also unveiled data from two patients with the longest follow-up period. At the low dose, one patient had an 80-fold increase in sunlight tolerance. Prior to treatment, that patient could be in the sunlight for 4.5 minutes. Bitopertin extended that to over six hours.
On the high dose, one patient had a 200-fold increase in sunlight tolerance, from 1.25 minutes before treatment to over four hours after treatment.
Across all patients, time in the sunlight increased to 1,200 minutes a week from just 344 minutes each week prior to treatment. The results sent biotech stock Disc to an 18-month high.
Highly Rated Disc Stock
Shares of Disc Medicine have soared 287% from a low point at 11.80 in late December, as of Friday's close.
The biotech stock has a best-possible Relative Strength Rating of 99, meaning it ranks in the top 1% of all stocks when it comes to 12-month performance. Shares also have an IBD Digital Composite Rating of 89, a 1-99 measure of a stock's fundamental and technical performance.
Disc stock is also well above its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, according to MarketSmith.com.
Follow Allison Gatlin on Twitter at @IBD_AGatlin.
