PhaseBio Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: PHAS) shares more than doubled on Monday after the firm released results from an early-stage clinical trial. The results were published online in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Specifically, the firm announced that results from the Phase 1 clinical trial of PB2452, a novel reversal agent for the antiplatelet drug ticagrelor, demonstrated that it provided immediate and sustained reversal of ticagrelor effects without report of drug-related serious adverse events, dose-limiting toxicities or infusion-related reactions.

Overall, PB2452 demonstrated dose-linear increases in mean exposure across the dose range. Platelet function was assessed using light transmission aggregometry, a point-of-care P2Y12 platelet-reactivity test, and vasodilator stimulated phosphoprotein assays.

Deepak Bhatt, M.D., MPH, executive director of Interventional Cardiovascular Programs at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and professor at Harvard Medical School, commented:

Patients taking ticagrelor to reduce the risk of a cardiac event are currently without an effective method to reverse its antiplatelet effects, which increases the risk of spontaneous major bleeding and can quickly produce life-threatening bleeding should they require emergency surgery. The results from the Phase 1 trial demonstrate that intravenous PB2452 provided immediate and sustained reversal of ticagrelor antiplatelet activity, thereby potentially reducing the bleeding risk associated with ticagrelor. The data support further evaluation of PB2452 for the reversal of the antiplatelet effects of ticagrelor in emergency situations involving major bleeding and to enable emergent or urgent surgery in patients.

Shares of PhaseBio were last seen up about 101% at $7.50 on Monday, in a 52-week range of $2.55 to $8.88. The consensus price target is $16.67.

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