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What happened
Shares of Celldex Therapuetics (CLDX -3.60%) are up 10.5% at 3:37 p.m. EST after the biotech presented data on CDX-1140 at the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) annual meeting on Saturday.
So what
You're forgiven if you've never heard of CDX-1140; the drug hasn't started clinical studies yet. The preclinical data presented at SITC showed that the drug could bind to its target, CD40, turning on the receptor that activates the immune system, which can then attack a tumor. Celldex is completing the preclinical development for CDX-1140, with plans to start clinical development next year. The ultimate plan is to test CDX-1140 in combination with other immunotherapies or conventional cancer treatments.
Normally preclinical data wouldn't send shares up by a double-digit percentage, but these aren't ordinary times. The biotech sector is still enjoying some post-election euphoria since Hillary Clinton won't be able to lower drug prices. And for Celldex specifically, the biotech has been quite volatile lately as it waits for data from its two lead drugs, glembatumumab vedotin and varlilumab. Shares made another double-digit jump last week after what appeared to be a news-less earnings report.
Now what
Long-term investors can ignore the moves up -- and likely some future news-less moves down -- because none of it really matters to the long-term valuation, which will be defined by whether glembatumumab vedotin and varlilumab make it to market.
