04:45 AM EDT, 04/05/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Candel Therapeutics ( CADL ) shares rose more than 24% in premarket activity on Friday, extending gains a day after reporting "positive" interim data from a randomized phase 2 clinical study of non-metastatic pancreatic cancer.

Shares closed 281% higher on Thursday where the company said interim data showed "notable improvements." It reported an estimated median overall survival of 28.8 months after experimental treatment with CAN-2409 versus 12.5 months in the control group in borderline resectable pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.

At 24 months, the survival rate was more than 71% in CAN-2409 treated patients versus almost 17% in the control group. At 36 months, estimated survival was nearly 48% versus close to 17%, respectively.

The company said it did not observe any new safety signals, implying multiple injections of CAN-2409 were generally "well tolerated," with no dose-limiting toxicities and no cases of pancreatitis.

The US Food and Drug Administration granted a fast-track designation for CAN-2409 in combination with valacyclovir to treat pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma in December.

Price: 7.96, Change: +1.56, Percent Change: +24.38