Shares of Spectrum Pharmaceuticals Inc., an Irvine cancer drug developer, shot up more than 40% Monday on news that its lead drug, satraplatin, showed lowered progression rates in cancer patients.
The study showed that advanced prostate cancer patients receiving satraplatin with prednisone had a 40% lower risk of disease progression, compared with those given placebo with prednisone.
Spectrum said it expects an application to be filed with the Food and Drug Administration for satraplatin, a platinum-based chemotherapy agent, by the end of this year. It also expects one to filed with the European Union in the first half of 2007 to market the drug.
If those applications are accepted, Spectrum said it would get as much as $20 million in milestone payments from its partner, Germany’s GPC Biotech AG.
Spectrum licensed satraplatin to GPC in 2002. Pharmion Corp. of Boulder, Colo., licensed the European and other international marketing rights from GPC last December.
Spectrum’s shares were up 43% to $4.98.
