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Intensity Therapeutics Inc saw its stock soar by 160% on Thursday after the company shared very promising clinical trial data for its experimental cancer treatment. The results were published in eBioMedicine, a journal from The Lancet group, which added credibility to the findings.
The study focused on INT230-6, a treatment designed to be injected directly into tumors for patients with advanced or hard-to-treat cancers. The results showed that 75% of patients had their disease controlled, meaning the cancer either stopped growing or shrank. The patients lived for a median of almost 12 months, which is impressive considering most had already gone through several rounds of other treatments for different types of cancers.
One of the most exciting findings was that patients who received higher doses of the drug, enough to treat more than 40% of their total tumor size, did significantly better. In this group, 83% of patients saw their disease controlled, and their median survival jumped to nearly 19 months. For those given lower doses, only half had their disease under control, and survival averaged just 3 months.
Another promising observation was that about one in five patients in the higher-dose group saw shrinkage in tumors that weren’t even injected with the drug. This rare response, known as the abscopal effect, suggests the therapy may help the immune system attack cancer throughout the body, not just at the injection site.
Importantly, the treatment appeared safe. Out of 64 patients treated with the drug alone, there were no life-threatening or severe side effects, and most reported symptoms were mild to moderate. Only a few patients experienced stronger reactions, but none were fatal.
Tests also confirmed that over 95% of the drug stayed inside the tumor, showing that the therapy works in a targeted, localized way rather than spreading harmful chemicals throughout the body.
Because of these positive outcomes, Intensity Therapeutics has already started more advanced trials, including a Phase 3 study for patients with sarcoma. In a small group of sarcoma patients treated only with INT230-6, the median survival reached more than 21 months, which researchers called a remarkable result.
Investors quickly responded to the news, sending the stock soaring as optimism grew that this therapy could become a breakthrough option for people battling aggressive cancers.