Shares of Immunomedics Inc. rose $2.25 to $13 on Friday afterthe company presented results of Phase III clinical studies ofits ImmuRaid-CEA colorectal cancer imaging agent.

In a presentation at the International Conference onMonoclonal Antibody Immunoconjugates for Cancer in SanDiego, the company said that in 35 percent of patients imagedwith ImmuRaid, new or additional information about thedisease was provided. The new information, whichsupplements data from CT scans, primarily involved thediscovery of new lesions missed by the scans or theconfirmation of lesions in cases where CT scans gave equivocalreadings.

Immunomedics filed for marketing approval of ImmuRaid lastApril.

ImmuRaid consists of a monoclonal antibody fragment labeledwith technetium-99m. Because ImmuRaid clears through thekidneys, it is able to image the liver, unlike other whole MAbslinked with indium, said company spokesman Joseph Schepers.Imaging the liver is important because it's often the first organto which colorectal cancer spreads.

The Warren, N.J., company (NASDAQ:IMMU) also said that outof 168 patients in the trials, only one experienced a humananti-mouse antibody response, and that patient may havepreviously received a MAb, which would have increased thelikelihood of an immune response to a subsequent monoclonaltherapy. -- KB

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