Delcath Systems Inc (NASDAQ:DCTH) shares rose 7.59% on Tuesday to $0.170 and an additional 11.76% in after-hours trading to $0.190. The company has a market cap of $338K at 2.20 million shares outstanding.
Delcath Systems Inc is a late-stage clinical development company with early commercial activity in Europe focused on cancers of the liver. It is a specialty pharmaceutical and medical device company developing its product, Melphalan Hydrochloride for Injection for use with the Delcath Hepatic Delivery System (Melphalan/HDS). This system delivers and filters melphalan hydrochloride, which is marketed as a device under the trade name Delcath Hepatic CHEMOSAT Delivery System for Melphalan (CHEMOSAT).
The company’s current focus is on the execution of the clinical development program (CDP) in ocular melanoma liver metastases (mOM), intrahepatic cholangiocarncinoma (ICC), hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC or primary liver) and other cancers that are metastatic to the liver. It announced that a retrospective, multicenter study demonstrated that 45.7 percent of patients with ocular melanoma that metastasized to the liver who underwent percutaneous hepatic perfusionusing investigational Melphalan/HDS experienced a complete or partial response. It also showed that among those who responded to treatment, overall survival was projected to be more than three years.
These findings were reported at the Regional Cancer Therapies 12th International Symposium by Dr. Alexandra Gangi of the Moffitt Cancer Center.
Patients diagnosed with metastatic ocular melanoma to the liver have an average of 6-8 months of survival. This retrospective analysis reported a much longer survival after Melphalan/HDS , and provided an interesting long-term look at patient outcomes after treatment with Delcath Melphalan/HDS,” said Dr. Jennifer K. Simpson, President & CEO of Delcath Systems Inc. “The projected 657-day median OS and 1,207 day median OS in those with a partial or complete response is very impressive, and we believe speaks to the potential of the system to provide meaningful durable response.”
However, looking at the stock’s longer-term chart shows a steep selloff since the third quarter of last year. Back in October, the company issued a letter to shareholders on advancing their Melphalan/Hepatic Delivery System to the benefit of patients worldwide who are battling primary and metastatic liver cancers. The downtrend seems to be slowing while investor interest is picking up, possibly indicating that it may have already reached a bottom.
Still, Delcath Systems Inc probably needs a much stronger catalyst to revive stock gains and pave the way for a reversal. For now, it looks like the selloff is merely slowing down as the long-term support has been holding. More positive updates from the company and its ongoing trials could buoy shares higher in anticipation of FDA approval, pending Phase 3 clinical testing in the U.S. as an investigational product.
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