Inhibitex Shares Soared: What You Need to Know

Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of biotech Inhibitex (NAS: INHX) are soaring today, up by 22% at the high, after the company announced positive results for its experimental hepatitis C drug, INX-189.

So what: Inhibitex reported top-line safety and antiviral data from its ongoing clinical trial that evaluates the drug administered in monotherapy or in combination with ribavirin for seven days. When used in combination, INX-189 demonstrated potent synergistic antiviral activity and did not result in any serious adverse side effects.

Now what: As a result, the company is seeking regulatory FDA approval to expand a mid-stage trial. The company will also expand a shorter early-stage trial of INX-189 to include 200 mg and 300 mg doses, compared to the 100 mg doses currently used. In order to finance the phase 2 program, Inhibitex has sold about 1.9 million shares of stock at an average price of $10.25 and received roughly $19.4 million in net proceeds after commissions.

Interested in more info on Inhibitex? Add it to your watchlist byclicking here.

At the time thisarticle was published Fool contributorEvan Niuholds no position in any company mentioned.Click hereto see his holdings and a short bio. Try any of our Foolish newsletter servicesfree for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe thatconsidering a diverse range of insightsmakes us better investors. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy.

Copyright © 1995 - 2011 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.