Shares of Rigel Pharmaceuticals Inc. soared 39.5% in premarket trading Friday, after the biotechnology company announced Food and Drug Administration approval of its Rezlidhia leukemia treatment. With trading volume of 5.2 million shares, the stock was the most active ahead of the open. The FDA approval came just two days after the company disclosed it received a delisting notice, because its stock has been below the minimum-bid requirement of $1 for 30 consecutive days. Even with the rally, the stock was on track to open below the $1 level. The stock had closed below $1 since Oct. 11. Meanwhile, the company said late Thursday that the FDA approved its Rezlidhia pills for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory (R/R) acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with a susceptible isocitrate dehydrogenase-1 (IDH1) mutation. “REZLIDHIA provides a new and important, oral therapy option for patients who typically have a poor clinical outcome,” said Rigel Chief Executive Raul Rodriguez. Rigel’s stock has plunged 52.2% over the past three months through Thursday, while the iShares Biotechnology ETF has rallied 13.2% and the S&P 500 has gained 3.9%.
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