Dendreon Spiking 2% On New Jersey Plant Approval (DNDN)

Dendreon Corporation (NASDAQ: DNDN) shares are spiking 2.3% on news that the FDA has approved its use for a New Jersey plant to manufacture its drug Provenge, which is used for prostate cancer.

"PROVENGE has the largest reported survival benefit in patients with asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic metastatic prostate cancer, with the most common side effects being primarily transient and mild to moderate. As such, PROVENGE is the standard of care for these patients," said Daniel George, M.D., director of GU Medical Oncology and the Prostate Clinic at Duke University Medical Center. "The increased availability of PROVENGE will allow more treatment centers and patients across the country to access this important treatment option."

"The significant 4.1 month median survival benefit PROVENGE demonstrated represents a major milestone in the treatment of metastatic CRPC. To put PROVENGE in perspective, over the past 15 years, there have only been three other therapies in any metastatic cancer setting to show a survival benefit of four months or more," said Mitchell H. Gold, M.D., president and chief executive officer of Dendreon. "With FDA approval of the additional NJ workstations, we now have significant capacity to make this important therapy available to the many men across the U.S. who may benefit from it."

At last check, shares were up 70 cents to $32.33.