Israel’s NeuroDerm, which has developed a transdermal drug delivery system for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease, ended the year on a really high note as its stock more than doubled in value this week. The jump came after the firm announced a study showed its wonder drug could help Parkinson’s sufferers avoid surgery.
The company’s stock broke the $10 mark for the first time and closed before the New Year’s break at $14.04 for more than a 120% increase in value.
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This was a huge relief for the company which was in danger of being remembered as one of Israel’s biggest IPO flops after a less than stellar IPO on the NASDAQ in November, selling 4.5 million shares at a price of just $10 per share. The represented a total of $45 million raised for a company valuation of only $164 million. NeuroDerm had previously disclosed an expected valuation of $290 million as it had hoped to raise as much as $72 million from its IPO.
On December 30th NeuroDerm announced that research showed that its product candidates ND0612H and ND0612L may provide an effective therapy alternative to current treatments requiring surgery. Apparently plasma levodopa levels are important and the drug somehow increases them in the body.
Investors do not really care to know, or need to know, the medical explanations behind new medications. They just need to be shown proof that they work.
“Maintaining consistent levodopa concentrations has been the most significant hurdle in Parkinson’s disease therapy, ” said Sheila Oren, MD, NeuroDerm’s Vice President of Clinical and Regulatory Affairs. “The results from this study demonstrate that ND0612H can reach high LD plasma levels that, to date, could only be reached and maintained by products that require surgical intervention. ND0612H is designed to be delivered continuously, thus we believe it should offer a simple and effective treatment option that will minimize the need for surgical intervention in advanced Parkinson’s patients.”
