Why Pharmacyclics Inc. Shares Vaulted Higher

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 Pharmacyclics , a biopharmaceutical company developing small molecule drugs to treat cancer and immune mediated diseases, vaulted higher by as much as 21% after the independent data-monitoring committee recommended its late-stage study (known as Resonate) of Imbruvica for relapsed/refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL) be stopped early due to statistically significant efficacy.

So what: According to Pharmacyclics' press release, Imbruvica met its primary and secondary endpoints and was demonstrating such efficacy in a study versus GlaxoSmithKline's Arzerra that the IDMC recommended it be stopped early. Pharmacyclics plans to announce detailed data analysis of its study at an upcoming oncology conference, while both it and development partner Janssen Pharmaceuticals, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson , have informed the Food and Drug Administration, as well as European Medicines Agency, of the IDMC's recommendation.

Now what: To be honest, there was never much of a question that Imbruvica wouldn't meet its primary or secondary endpoints in this late-stage CLL/SLL trial. Today's news, though, demonstrates that Imbruvica's progression-free survival benefit is significantly better than Arzerra's according to the IDMC. It also clears a path for Imbruvica to be potentially be approved by the FDA for CLL, the most common form of leukemia in adults, affecting some 16,000 people annually and currently afflicting more than 100,000 in the U.S. alone. An approval from here on out seems like a formality at this point. The big question now is how well Pharmacyclics and Johnson & Johnson will do when it comes to marketing this potential blockbuster drug.

This stock could have even more attractive growth potential than Pharmacyclics!
Opportunities to get wealthy from a single investment don't come around often, but they do exist, and our chief technology officer believes he's found one. In this free report, Jeremy Phillips shares the single company that he believes could transform not only your portfolio, but your entire life. To learn the identity of this stock for free and see why Jeremy is putting more than $100,000 of his own money into it, all you have to do is click here now.

The article Why Pharmacyclics Inc. Shares Vaulted Higher originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Sean Williams has no material interest in any companies mentioned in this article. You can follow him on CAPS under the screen name TMFUltraLong, track every pick he makes under the screen name TrackUltraLong, and check him out on Twitter, where he goes by the handle @TMFUltraLong.The Motley Fool recommends Johnson & Johnson. The Motley Fool owns shares of, and recommends Johnson & Johnson. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Copyright © 1995 - 2014 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.