Shares of Synairgen plc (LON: SNG) climbed 9.8% on the first trading day of 2021 despite the biotech company not making any major announcements.
The biotech company’s last news was that it had expedited the design of the phase III trial of its SNG-001 COVID-19 treatment after talks with regulators to reduce the number of participants from 900 patients to 680 patients.
Synairgen’s drug has shown effectiveness against severe cases of the coronavirus and could be used widely to treat the virus following the recent wave of infections that have led to new lockdown measures in the UK and across Europe.
Investors are waiting for the results of the phase III trial, which could lead to the drug being approved as an effective COVID-19 treatment and maybe even used on a global scale creating a major windfall for the company in future.
However, some analysts are concerned about the company’s over-dependence on its COVID-19 treatment as a future revenue generator, given that sales of the drug could drop substantially once the pandemic is under control.
Synairgen share price
Synairgen shares rallied 9.8% to trade at 168p having risen from its Thursday, December 31st closing price of 153p.