La Jolla Pharmaceutical Shares Surge on Positive Trial Results

By Trey Thoelcke Published Mar 11, 7:15AM EDT

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La Jolla Pharmaceutical Co. (NASDAQ: LJPC) shares surged after the micro-cap biotech said late Monday that its study for a chronic kidney disease treatment showed a statistically significant improvement.

The company said the randomized, placebo-controlled Phase II trial of GCS-100 in chronic kidney disease met its primary efficacy endpoint of a statistically significant improvement in kidney function. Key secondary endpoints were also met.

La Jolla Pharmaceutical CEO George Tidmarsh said:

We want to thank the patients who volunteered for this study and our excellent group of investigators for their hard work completing this Phase 2 trial in a timely fashion. We are obviously delighted with the results. … We hope to use these results as a platform for further investigation not only in chronic kidney disease but also in other diseases where tissue fibrosis plays a central role.

Chronic kidney disease reportedly affects 14% of Americans, or around 49 million people. GCS-100 is a high molecular weight, complex polysaccharide that inhibits galectin-3, a molecule suspected of playing a central role in tissue fibrosis. GCS-100 also has been shown to be therapeutically active in preclinical models of other diseases where tissue fibrosis plays a central role, such as nonalcoholic steatohepatitis.

La Jolla Pharmaceutical shares were up more than 58% in premarket trading to $17.27. The 52-week range had been $3.00 to $12.00.

About the Author Trey Thoelcke →

Trey has been an editor and author at 24/7 Wall St. for more than a decade, where he has published thousands of articles analyzing corporate earnings, dividend stocks, short interest, insider buying, private equity, and market trends. His comprehensive coverage spans the full spectrum of financial markets, from blue-chip stalwarts to emerging growth companies.

Beyond 24/7 Wall St., Trey has created and edited financial content for Benzinga and AOL's BloggingStocks, contributing additional hundreds of articles to the investment community. He previously oversaw the 24/7 Climate Insights site, managing editorial operations and content strategy, and currently oversees and creates content for My Investing News.

Trey's editorial expertise extends across multiple publishing environments. He served as production editor at Dearborn Financial Publishing and development editor at Kaplan, where he helped shape financial education materials. Earlier in his career, he worked as a writer-producer at SVE. His freelance editing portfolio includes work for prestigious clients such as Sage Publications, Rand McNally, the Institute for Supply Management, the American Library Association, Eggplant Literary Productions, and Spiegel.

Outside of financial journalism, Trey writes fiction and has been an active member of the writing community for years, overseeing a long-running critique group and moderating workshop sessions at regional conventions. He lives with his family in an old house in the Midwest.