Shares in ValiRx PLC (LON:VAL) shares have more than quadrupled over the past few weeks in anticipation of top-line results from the Phase II lung cancer trials of its VAL401 anti-cancer compound.

Those results didn’t disappoint on Tuesday, sending the stock soaring once again - up 84% to 5.75p in late afternoon trading.

READ: ValiRx completes dosing of VAL401 Phase II trial

ValiRx said the drug had a “statistically significant” improvement in overall survival for patients with non-small cell lung cancer compared to those receiving no treatment.

The company had previously reported back in September that 2mg doses of VAL401 were “broadly safe and tolerated”, while the treatment also demonstrated “suitability of our proposed treatment paradigm”.

The chief executive of ValiSeek – the joint venture company which has developed VAL401 – Suzy Dilly, said: “I am delighted to confirm that our patients benefitted in overall survival, with the other measures of disease impact still to be analysed and presented.

“The team at ValiSeek, Ariana (data analytics firm) and ValiRx have been instrumental in ensuring this data is presented and interpreted fully and I look forward to updating the market with the next report instalment.”

READ: ValiRx says YA II has converted second tranche of convertible loan facility at 1.25p per share

As Dilly noted, further analysis of other endpoints, including quality of life, is underway.

The lung cancer market is expected to be worth almost US$8bn a year by 2020, and ValiRx said it was in discussion with a “number of large pharmaceutical companies” that are looking to fill their pipelines in this particular area.

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