Aimmune Therapeutics CEO Dr. Jayson Dallas on the drug that can potentially eliminate kids’ allergic reactions to peanuts.
Hope for a potential treatment of anaphylaxis – a serious, life-threatening allergic reaction — sent the stock of Aquestive Therapeutics surging following U.S. Food and Drug Administration decision to push the potential treatment to the next stage.
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The stock, at one point in the trading day, was up 9 percent before settling down at 2.7 Still news that a potential treatment for potentially life-threatening allergic reactions ranging from bee stings to latex to food, was good news for investors and possibly patients.
“Anaphylaxis is a serious condition that impacts a large patient population for which there is a significant unmet need,” Aquestive Chief Executive Officer Keith J. Kendall said in a company statement, “The only options currently available to patients require an injection and AQST-108 can potentially bring meaningful innovation and positive change for patients. We are focused on providing the first highly portable, easy-to-administer and anxiety-free sublingual film medication to treat this serious condition.”
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AQST | AQUESTIVE THERAPEUTICS INC. | 4.13 | +0.11 | +2.74% |
The next steps for Aquestive’s AQST-108 potential treatment include pharmacokinetic studies that involve taking several blood samples from human subjects over a period of time to determine how the body handles the substance.
The average anaphylaxis emergency room visit costs just over $1,400, a 2016 report from insurer Blue Cross and Blue Shield found. The average out-of-pocket cost per patient is $373. According to the National Center for Biology Information, an estimated, 1 percent of hospitalizations prove fatal.
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Aquestive will also hold “pre-IND” meetings, which provide an opportunity for open communication between drugmakers and government health officials to hammer out the treatment’s development.
This is the second piece of potentially good news for those with food allergies. Last week, Aimmune Therapeutics saw its shares skyrocket after the FDA approved the company’s drug that reduces — and potentially eliminates — kids’ allergic reactions to peanuts.
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Aquestive is also the maker of seizure drug Sympazan. Its stock is down 30 percent on the year.
