Anthera Soars 30% On Kidney Treatment Data

Shares of Anthera Pharmaceuticals Inc ANTH, a nano-cap bio-pharmaceutical company that focuses on developing and commercializing products to treat serious diseases, soared higher by more than 30 percent on Wednesday.

Anthera announced on Tuesday positive data from its Phase 2 BRIGHT-SC proof-of-concept study involving 57 patients suffering from a kidney disease called iGa nephropathy, also known as Berger's disease. In conjunction with the announcement, the company also announced a change in its leadership and management structure.

The patients were given Anthera's therapy called blisibimod over a 48 week period. The results of the therapy were then compared to other patients who were given a placebo.

Anthera said:

"A positive trend on proteinuria of blisibimod in patients with biopsy-proven IgA nephropathy was observed. Consistent with the previously announced Week 24 analysis, blisibimod treated-patients over time demonstrated stable to slightly decreasing levels of estimated 24 hour urinary protein excretion, as assessed by urinary protein to creatinine ratio (PCR), as compared to slowly increasing levels of proteinuria in the placebo group. 44 of the original 57 patients had a Week 48 observation and 22 patients had a Week 96 observation at the time of this analysis."

"The Week 48 observations from the BRIGHT-SC study continue to demonstrate consistent pharmacological effects on B cells and serum immunoglobulins, and suggest an effect on proteinuria," said William Shanahan, MD, Anthera's Chief Medical Officer. "We believe proteinuria is a robust surrogate biomarker for IgA nephropathy disease activity, and we remain optimistic that a longer-term evaluation in greater numbers of patients could provide further validation of blisibimod's effects on IgA nephropathy by demonstrating continuing effects on proteinuria and preservation of glomerular function."

The stock traded recently at $1.90, up 29.9 percent.