FibroGen Shares Surge 49% On Positive Mid-stage Trial For Pulmonary Fibrosis Therapy

FibroGen Inc. shares surged 48.6% in extremely heavy morning trade on Tuesday after the biopharmaceutical company released positive results for a mid-stage trial of its idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis therapy. Of the 103 patients enrolled in the phase 2 trial, those on the therapy, pamrevlumab, met the trial's primary efficacy endpoint, which measured change in lung volume, on the trial's 48th week. The therapy was also well tolerated in patients, the company said. FibroGen plans to meet with the Food and Drug Administration to discuss the path forward for pamrevlumab. Pamrevlumab is also being developed for use in pancreatic cancer and Duchenne muscular dystrophy. FibroGen shares have surged 81.1% to $49.45 over the last three months, compared with a 3.4% rise in the S&P 500 .