Immune Pharma's Stock Rockets On Heavy Volume After License Pact

Shares of Immune Pharmaceuticals Inc. rocketed 75% in active premarket trade Thursday, after the biopharmaceutical company announced a license agreement with Pint Pharma to commercialize Immune's cancer treatment Ceplene in Latin America. Volume spiked to over 700,000 shares 30 minutes before the open, already more than four-times the full-day regular-session average of about 166,000 shares. As part of the agreement, Pint will make a $4 million investment in Immunue's oncology subsidiary Cytovia. Celpene has been approved in Europe for the maintenance of first remission in patients with acute myeloid leukemia in combination with interleukin-2. "We are excited about the possibility of partnering with Pint Pharma, a market leader in Latin America with strong commercialization capabilities in the field of oncology," said Immune Chief Executive Daniel Teper. The stock had tumbled 33% year to date through Wednesday, while the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF has climbed 8.8% and the S&P 500 has gained 4.4%.