Here's Why Regulus Therapeutics Gained 20%

Shares of Regulus Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ: RGLS) were trading higher by nearly 20 percent late Wednesday morning after the company announced interim results from an ongoing Phase 2 study.Regulus Therapeutics' Phase 2 study of RG-101 for the treatment of Hepatitis C Virus infection (HCV) was designed to evaluate a shortened, four-week treatment regimen containing a subcutaneous administration of 2 mg/kg of RG-101 at Day 1 and Day 29, in combination with 4 weeks of daily approved anti-viral agents.Regulus Therapeutics reported that 38 patients have been evaluated through eight weeks of follow up and 97 percent of patients had HCV RNA viral load measurements below the limit of quantification. The company added that 100 percent of patients that remained through 12 weeks of follow up reported HCV RNA viral load measurements below the limit of quantification."These sustained virologic responses demonstrate the potential ability of RG-101 to successfully reduce currently marketed oral treatment regimens to just four weeks, a major clinical breakthrough that the HCV field has not been able to achieve until today and I look forward to future results," said Eric Lawitz, M.D., Vice President, Scientific and Research Development, The Texas Liver Institute, and Clinical Professor of Medicine, University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio. "In addition, I believe this novel approach might allow treating physicians to overcome compliance issues in a wide variety of patient populations."