Shares in Summit Therapeutics PLC (LON:SUMM, NASDAQ:SMMT) rose after the company said its next-generation antibiotic “significantly improved” the short- and long-term quality of life of people with c.difficile infection when compared with the current standard of care.

The positive headline data for the company’s drug Ridinilazole came from a phase II clinical trial called CoDIFy and were detailed in a poster presentation at the ID Week 2019 conference being held in Washington DC.

Delegates were told patients enjoyed statistically significant improvements in physical and mental health with the benefits seen in as little as five days.

Ridinilazole went head to head with the current standard treatment vancomycin in the 100-patient study.

“C.difficile is debilitating for patients, both physically and mentally,” said Summit’s head of research and development, Dr David Roblin.

 “These findings suggest the benefits of treatment with Ridinilazole goes beyond the clinical benefits seen in the phase II clinical trial, with our precision antibiotic also improving the overall wellbeing of the patient.”

At 12.55pm, the shares were 5% higher.

C.difficile infection is a serious healthcare threat in hospitals, long-term care homes and increasingly in the wider community with over one million estimated cases annually in the United States and Europe.

It is caused by an infection of the colon by the bacterium c. difficile, which produces toxins that cause inflammation and severe diarrhoea, and in the most serious cases can be fatal.

Patients typically develop c.diff following the use of broad-spectrum antibiotics that can cause widespread damage to the natural gut flora and allow overgrowth of c.difficile bacteria.