It has been a great week for ImmuPharma (LON:IMM), the drug company developing a treatment for autoimmune disease Lupus.
Up more 67% in last five trading sessions it has been on the rampage since it was revealed that Alto Invest had taken its stake to 4.15%.
It won’t have escaped the notice of the French asset management group the company’s fortunes could be utterly transformed in the next year or so.
That’s because ImmuPharma’s key drug, called Lupuzor, is now in phase III clinical trials.
“Alto initially participated in ImmuPharma’s successful £8.4mln fundraising in February this year following detailed due-diligence of our Lupuzor Phase III pivotal trial,” chairman Tim McCarthy said earlier this week.
“We are delighted that it has increased its holding and we can now disclose that Alto is a significant shareholder in ImmuPharma.”
In all 200 people will take part in ImmuPharma’s final phase study, which is being carried out over 10 centres in the States and 35 in Europe and which is funded from an £8.4mln share placing in February and March.
Recruitment for the pivotal clinical trial, being overseen by ImmuPharma’s partner Simbec-Orion, will be complete sometime this year, with results expected by the end of 2017.
If it successfully negotiates the final regulatory hurdles, Lupuzor has the potential to be a blockbuster treatment.
This in turn would put ImmuPharma in elite company in taking a drug from the lab to point of commercialisation. Very few small biotechs every hit a ‘home run’ of this kind.