Shares of Aclaris Therapeutics Inc. ACRS, +184.01% skyrocketed more than 200% toward a 2 1/2-year high, on massive volume, in midday trading Tuesday, after the biopharmaceutical company announced “positive” data from a Phase 2a trial of its rheumatoid arthritis treatment. The stock shot up 211.1%, putting it on track for the highest close since July 2018, to pace all gainers on major U.S. exchanges. Trading volume soared to 79.7 million shares, compared with the full-day average of about 859,000 shares. The company said the Phase 2a multicenter trial was randomized, patient-blind, sponsor-unblinded and placebo-controlled, and the primary endpoint was safety and tolerability of ATI-450, an investigational oral MK2 inhibitor. In the trial, the company said ATI-450 as generally well tolerated, showed no serious adverse events and demonstrated durable clinical activity. Aclaris Chief Medical Officer David Gordon said he believes the data supports the hypothesis that MK2 inhibition is an important novel target for treating immuno-inflammatory diseases, and he looks forward to progressing ATI-450 to Phase 2b. The stock has soared more than four-fold (up 305.5%) over the past three months, while the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF IBB, +1.89% has rallied 19.4% and the S&P 500 SPX, +0.80% has gained 10.6%.
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