What's Driving The Rally At Small-Cap Biotech Dova?

Shares of thinly traded small-cap biotech Dova Pharmaceuticals Inc DOVA were solidly higher Thursday, adding to the gains they notched early in the week .

Dova announced Tuesday that its Doptelet was granted marketing authorization in Europe for treating severe thrombocytopenia in adult patients with chronic liver disease.

What Happened

Dova, a pharma company focused on developing therapies for diseases with a high unmet need, said Thursday ahead of the market open that the FDA approved a sNDA for Doptelet. The move expands the use of the drug for treating adults with chronic immune thrombocytopenia who have had an insufficient response to previous treatment.

Thrombocytopenia is a condition in which a patient has a low blood platelet count.

Doptelet, an oral thrombopoietin receptor agonist administered with food, has already been approved for treating thrombocytopenia in adult patients with chronic liver disease who are scheduled to undergo a procedure.

What Next

Dova said it is evaluating Doptelet for chemotherapy-induced thrombocytopenia and expects top-line results from a Phase 3 study for the indication in the first half of 2020.

Dova shares were up 16.15% at $12.30 at the time of publication Thursday. 

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Photo by Prof. Erhabor Osaro/Wikimedia.