Shares of drug developer Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. jumped in premarket trading on Tuesday after a Phase 2 study of the eye disease treatment it has under development with Bayer HealthCare AG met its primary goal.
Shares of Regeneron, which trades on the Nasdaq Stock Market, rose $3.35, or 17.5 percent, to $22.50 in electronic trading. The stock has traded in a 52-week range of $10.88 to $24.85.
The companies said their VEGF Trap-Eye treatment for patients with the neovascular form of age-related macular degeneration, or wet AMD, met its goal of a statistically significant reduction in retinal thickness. The treatment also met its secondary goal, a mean change from baseline in visual acuity, and no drug-related serious adverse events were reported.
Regeneron and Bayer HealthCare, a subsidiary of German pharmaceutical and chemical company Bayer AG, said they would pursue Phase 3 testing in the second half of the year. The companies plan to jointly market the treatment outside the U.S., while Tarrytown, N.Y.-based Regeneron holds exclusive marketing rights in the U.S.
