Why Is Immuno-Oncology Focused Phio Pharmaceuticals Stock Trading Higher Today?

Phio Pharmaceuticals Corp PHIO shares are trading higher after the company announced the poster presentation of two preclinical studies of its INTASYL compound PH-894 at the AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics.

The first study shows that melanoma cells treated with its PH-894 compound make them more recognizable to the immune cells. 

• The treatment increases the tumor marker MART-1 (Melanoma tumor-associated antigen), allowing for better recognition and potentially increased killing by T cells. 
• Local treatment with PH-894 presents a strategy to decrease BRD4 expression and upregulate MART-1 expression to increase immune response to cancer cells while reducing toxicities associated with systemic therapies. 
• This study supports further development of PH-894 for injectable solid tumor indications such as melanoma.

The second study demonstrates the effectiveness of PH-894 as an antitumor cytotoxic agent (directly killing tumor cells). 

• The addition of PH-894 to cells in vitro elicited concentration-associated apoptosis of all human cancer cell lines tested, including head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, hepatocellular carcinoma, breast cancer, lung cancer, glioblastoma, melanoma, colon cancer, ovarian cancer, and cervical cancer.

Price Action: PHIO shares are up 64.0% at $2.28 on the last check Wednesday