Summit Therapeutics PLC (LON:SUMM, NASDAQ:SMMT) saw its shares jump nearly 9% on Monday in London after the group revealed that its clinical trial for the treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy provided "further positive findings" for its utrophin modulator ezutromid.
In a statement, the AIM-listed biotech firm said initial 24-week results from the 48-week Phase II PhaseOut DMD clinical trial showed a "statistically significant decrease" in muscle inflammation as measured by magnetic resonance spectroscopy transverse relaxation time T2.
WATCH: Summit Therapeutics hugely excited after big DMD ‘breakthrough’
David Roblin, Summit’s chief medical officer and research & development president said. "The 24-week interim analysis has shown encouraging signs of ezutromid activity in PhaseOut DMD. These MRS-T2 findings show a positive impact on downstream muscle health.”
He added: "This, combined with the evidence that ezutromid can modulate production of utrophin protein and significantly reduce muscle damage, is further evidence of the potential of ezutromid as a disease-modifying approach for the treatment of all genetic forms of DMD."
In early afternoon trading, Summit shares were up 8.8% at 185p.