Acasti Pharma Inc. Gains Ahead Of Expected Phase II Results

Acasti Pharma Inc.

gained more than 9 percent Thursday ahead of the expected release of complete data from Phase II trials of its lead drug candidate. With a market capitalization of $41.2 million, shares of the Laval, Quebec-based company changed hands recently at $0.576 cents, up $0.049 cents. Acasti, which is developing medicine for blood disorders using oil from plankton, said last month that it expects to obtain complete data from the trial by the end of February. Acasti expects to meet with U.S. regulators concerning the data during the first quarter ending May 31, and obtain "a clearer picture on the projected timeline" for a Phase III trial of the product, called CaPre. The product is the company's only drug candidate and Acasti hopes to market it for treatment of hypertriglyceridemia, a condition which can lead to cardiovascular disease. Acasti received notice Nov. 11 that failed to meet the Nasdaq minimum $1 bid listing requirement and that it had 180 days to comply.