Tiny Pharma Company Surges 160% on Positive Depression Drug Data

(Bloomberg) -- Shares of smallcap Axsome Therapeutics Inc. are more than doubling after positive trial results for one of its drugs that treats depression.

The experimental drug, AXS-05, significantly improved depression symptoms after six weeks in a mid-stage study compared to bupropion, the company announced in a press release. The drug was deemed safe and well tolerated with no serious adverse events.

Shares are rising more than 160 percent pre-market trading to $7.00 per share. This is the second sizable gain for the stock in a week, with shares climbing 29 percent last Monday after management gave a year-end clinical update for its drug portfolio. Axsome had a market value of $78.4 million as of Friday’s close.

A conference call (see slides from the website) to discuss the trial results will commence today at 8:30am.

To contact the reporter on this story: Arie Shapira in New York at ashapira3@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Chris Nagi at chrisnagi@bloomberg.net, Catherine Larkin

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