First Wave BioPharma (FWBI) stock soars over 36% on upbeat trial data

Highlights

• First Wave BioPharma, Inc. (NASDAQ: FWBI) jumps more than 36% in the premarket.
• The biotech company announced on Tuesday that the data monitoring committee (DMA) recommended continuing enrollment for its Reservoir Phase 2 trials.
• The trial data from the first 25 patients showed no safety issues. Furthermore, Part 2 of the study will involve 150 patients.

The First Wave BioPharma, Inc. (NASDAQ: FWBI) stock rose more than 36% in the premarket on Tuesday after announcing the data monitoring committee’s (DMA) decision to continue enrollment of its Reservoir Phase 2 trials for covid-related gastrointestinal infections.

The stock traded at US$2.58, up 36.51% from the previous close at about 8:30 am ET.

The independent committee reviewed the safety data from the trials on the first 25 patients. The data showed no safety issues. Furthermore, Part 2 of the study will involve 150 patients, the company said in a release. The announcement came at a time when the Omicron fear was looming, and that may have proved a boon for the covid drugmaker.

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Financials and stock performance

The Boca Raton, Florida-based FWBI is a clinical-stage biotechnology company. It develops non-systemic, targeted therapies for covid-related gastrointestinal diseases.

Its IPO came in October 2016. It has a market capitalization of US$23.55 million. 

The stock closed at US$1.94 on Nov 29. It traded in the range of US$26.30 to US$1.81 in the last 52 weeks. Analysts have set a one-year price target of US$20.0 for the stock.

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In the September quarter, 2021, the company incurred a net loss of US$30.4 million compared to US$5.3 million in the same period of 2020. However, the loss per share diluted reduced to US$(3.27) from the net loss per share of US$(4.72) a year ago.

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Bottomline

The company expects the topline results from the trials to be available in 2022 by when the drug’s ability to remove the covid virus from the GI tract can be assessed. The NYSE Healthcare Index (NYP.ID) gave a 12.99% return YTD. In contrast, the FWBI stock fell by 80.52%.