Apellis Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ: APLS) made significant gains in yesterday’s trading session, as it closed the day with gains of 28.29%. This followed several major announcements both in science and finance.
On the scientific front, the company announced that it had positive results from its phase 3 PEGASUS study. This study is evaluating Pegcetacoplan (APL-2) in adults suffering from Paroxysmal Nocturnal Hemoglobinuria (PNH).
The company announced that APL-2 met its primary endpoint, and was superior to eculizumab, and with an improvement in the adjusted mean of 3.8 g/dl of hemoglobin at 16 weeks. The company further announced that, APL-2 had promising results on its secondary endpoints. It stated that, APL-2 met non-inferiority on absolute reticulocyte count, and on transfusion avoidance. On top of that, APL-2 showed positive results on fatigue and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) when measured on the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy fatigue score.
Commenting on this development, the company Chief Medical Officer Federico Grossi stated that, Pegcetacoplan is the first investigational therapy to show superiority to eculizumab on hemoglobin. He added that, 85% of patients that were treated with the therapy were transfusion free. He further added that, the company’s goal was to create new transformative therapies, and pegcetacoplan had demonstrated the potential to change lives.
Besides, this breakthrough, Apellis Pharma also announced that, it had started underwriting a public offer of 7 million shares of common stock. The public offer is being run by Citigroup, Evercore ISI, and JP Morgan. The company will give underwriters a one month option to buy an extra 15% of the stock sold during the public offer.
From its price action, the stock gapped up in the day, then traded between a low of $34.61 and a high of $42.48, before closing the day at $38.73. Volumes in the day stood at 17.22 million.
About Apellis Pharmaceuticals Inc
Apellis Pharmaceuticals Inc is a biopharma company that develops therapies for inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. It is based in Crestwood, Kentucky.