Shares of Aclaris Therapeutics Inc. ACRS,
shot up more than 200% to a maximum of 2 1/2 years, with a massive volume, during midday trading on Tuesday, after the biopharmaceutical company announced “positive” data from a phase 2 trial of its treatment against rheumatoid arthritis. Shares rose 211.1%, standing on the path to the highest close since July 2018, at the pace of all the winners of the major US stock markets. Trading volume rose to 79.7 million shares, compared to the daily average of approximately 859,000 shares. The company said the phase 2 multicenter trial was randomized, blinded to the patient, blinded by sponsors, and placebo-controlled, and that the primary goal was the safety and tolerability of ATI-450, a investigated oral MK2 inhibitor. In the trial, the company said the ATI-450 was generally well tolerated, showed no serious adverse events, and demonstrated lasting clinical activity. Aclaris chief medical officer David Gordon said he believes the data support the hypothesis that MK2 inhibition is an important and important goal for the treatment of immunoinflammatory diseases, and hopes that the ATI- 450 to phase 2b. Shares have quadrupled (305.5%) in the last three months, while the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology IBB ETF,
increased 19.4% and the S&P 500 SPX,
has gained 10.6%.