Array shares jump 17% on Ph II ARRY-797 data

US drug developer Array BioPharma says that it will evaluate its investigational painkiller ARRY-797 against Pfizer's blockbuster Celebrex (celecoxib) after it yielded encouraging analgesic efficacy in a mid-stage study. The news caused shares in the Boulder, Colorado-based firm to surge 17.1% to $6.56 on the day it was announced, March 3.

In the Phase II trial, the analgesic effect of 400mg of Array's small-molecule pan-cytokine inhibitor was statistically-significant compared to placebo based upon the primary endpoint of total pain relief over six hours after dose (p<0.0001). The effect was also statistically-significant for total pain relief over three, eight, 12 and 24 hours post dose, the firm noted. If ARRY-797 fares well in the new Phase II study it could compete with Celebrex, which earned $2.29 billion for Pfizer in 2007. Lehman Brothers analyst Jim Birchenough reaffirmed his overweight rating on Array, with a $16 price target, on this possiblity. Array will also start a Phase II ARRY-797 trial in ankylosing spondylitis.