Micro-Cap AXM Pharma (AXJ) Sees Shares Nearly Double As China Approves Sale of Diabetes Drug
NEW YORK (AP) -- Shares of microcap generic pharmaceutical company AXM Pharma soared almost 90 percent in morning trading Friday after the Las Vegas company said a subsidiary received regulatory approval to sell a diabetes drug in China.
AXM said AXM Pharma Shenyang got the OK from the Chinese Food and Drug Administration to sell glucostrim (qiyao) anti-diabetes capsules beginning in March.
The drug, which uses a combination of traditional Chinese herbal medicine and new technology, is designed to raise the level of insulin in the body to reduce the glucose, AXM said. The drug was studied in an 18-month test with 600 patients in four Chinese hospitals, the company said, and found to be effective, without causing side effects associated with other treatments. No more details from the study were provided by AXM.
"Diabetes is a growing problem in China and internationally and this product, which has proven effective in treating diabetes without the associated side effects, provides the company with a significant revenue opportunity," said Weishi Wang, AXM Pharma chairman and chief executive.
The company cited statistics from The Asia Times, that there are now 90 million people with diabetes in Asia, including 23 million in China.
Shares of AXM were trading up 31 cents, or 89 percent, at 66 cents on the American Stock Exchange, where volume was closing in on seven times average daily volume. The stock has traded between 29 cents and $3.63 in the past year.
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