Optimer Soars on Antibiotic Data

Optimer Pharmaceuticals (OPTR Quote) proves that even in a bear market, small biotech stocks are still capable of doubling in price overnight.

Shares of Optimer, a pick in my Biotech Select model portfolio, soared 90% Monday night after the San Diego-based company reported positive top-line results from a pivotal phase III study of its experimental antibiotic OPT-80 in patients infected with the hospital-borne infection Clostridium difficile.

OPT-80 achieved cure rates that are statistically equivalent to Vancocin, the only Food and Drug Administration-approved treatment for Clostridium difficile, or C. diff for short. Better yet, OPT-80 significantly reduced the recurrence of C. diff compared to Vancocin, which is marketed by Viropharma (VPHM Quote). ...