Shares of Kitov Pharma (NASDAQ:KTOV) skyrocketed about 169% as the company’s anti-cancer candidate, NT219 yielded encouraging results. The company announced new findings from its NT219 treatment to battle cancer, which it has been studying alongside researchers from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
NT219 is a first-in-class drug candidate with high affinity and selectivity to its target proteins. It is currently in pre-clinical development.
The drug is developed by Hadas Reuveni, Ph.D., chief technology officer at Kitov’s subsidiary, TyrNovo Ltd., in collaboration with Dr. Galia Blum and Dr. Ofra Moshel from the Hebrew University. They found that NT219 binds directly to Insulin Receptor Substrates (IRS) 1/2 and to the Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription 3 (STAT3), both known modulators of tumor survival, metastasis and drug resistance.
The data showed that even a short exposure of cancerous cells to NT219 was sufficient to trigger irreversible shutdown of cancer pathways, resulting in a long-term anti-cancer effect.
NT219 has a unique mechanism of action. It is a new and promising concept in cancer therapy, designed to prevent, reverse and delay resistance to anti-cancer drugs. Kitov is developing the drug, which is to be used in combination with other therapies that have the potential to overcome cancer drug resistance and boost the efficacy of numerous oncology drugs in the market today.
We note that Kitov is an innovative pharmaceutical drug development company. The company’s flagship combination drug Consensi, treating osteoarthritis pain and hypertension simultaneously, is presently marketed in the United States and partnered in the United States, China and South Korea.
Another company, Athenex, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATNX) recently completed target enrollment of 360 patients in the Oraxol phase III study in metastatic breast cancer on schedule. Athenexalso reaffirmed that top-line data from the study is expected to be available in mid-2019.
Oraxol is an innovative oral formulation of paclitaxel, a very effectiveand commonly used anti-cancer chemotherapy combined with HM30181A (a novel gastrointestinal tract specific P-glycoprotein pump inhibitor).
Zacks Rank and Stocks to Consider
Kitov currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Some better-ranked stocks worth considering are Eli Lilly and Co. (NYSE:LLY) and AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) . While Lilly sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), AbbVie carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Lilly’s earnings per share estimates have increased from $5.47 to $5.58 for 2018 and from $5.78 to $5.91 for 2019 over the past 90 days. The company delivered a positive earnings surprise in all the trailing four quarters, with average of 10.03%.
AbbVie’s earnings per share estimates have increased from $7.86 to $7.93 for 2018 and over the past 90 days. The company delivered a positive earnings surprise in all the trailing four quarters, with average of 3.54%.
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