Anadys Pharmaceuticals is skyrocketing today. Shares in the San Diego-based biotech shot up more than 80 percent after it reported its experimental hepatitis C drug was able to wipe out more than 99 percent of the virus from the blood in the first 72 hours. As we described today in an interview with CEO Steve Worland, this finding is only from the first eight patients, but it beats others in its class at this early phase of testing.
Anadys (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ANDS]]) climbed 84 percent to $3.49 at Noon Eastern time today after it released preliminary results. One of the analysts who covers the company, Reni Benjamin of Rodman & Renshaw in New York, told clients in a note the data was “impressive.” He reminded investors the Anadys drug produced its effects at the lowest of three doses it is testing in this Phase I clinical trial.
Results from those groups of patients could drive the stock further this year, and the data could entice big companies like Gilead Sciences or Roche to form a partnership with Anadys to get a piece of the drug, Benjamin says. “While the stock could be volatile in the coming months, based on the results obtained to date, we continue to believe that Anadys Pharmaceuticals represents an overlooked and undervalued company for the long-term, risk oriented investor,” Benjamin wrote.
