Genocea Biosciences Spikes 30% After Positive Data From Phase 2 Trial

Shares of Genocea Biosciences Inc (NASDAQ: GNCA), a biopharmaceutical company that focuses on diseases with unmet needs, surged higher by more than 30 percent on Thursday.

Genocea Biosciences announced earlier in the morning data from a 12-month Phase 2 study evaluating its lead candidate

GEN-003 was also shown to be safe and well tolerated by patients with no serious adverse events.

"We are very pleased with these data, which show that GEN-003 has strong and durable effects on both HSV-2 viral activity and genital herpes clinical disease, supporting our belief that GEN-003 could become a cornerstone treatment for patients affected by this serious disease. Specifically, a single course of treatment of GEN-003 may offer benefits similar to a full year of daily administration of oral antivirals - but with greatly improved convenience," said Chip Clark, president and chief executive officer of Genocea. "We anticipate reporting virologic efficacy data for GEN-003 from our recently-initiated Phase 2b study in the third quarter of 2016, clinical efficacy data at 6 months post dosing around the end of 2016 and conducting our end of Phase 2 meeting with the FDA in the first quarter of 2017."