Penny stock Mustang Bio Inc ( MBIO ) shares are trading higher on a strong session volume of 90 million versus an average volume of 3.17 million, as per data from Benzinga Pro.

Mustang was founded by Fortress Biotech Inc ( FBIO ) .

Monday, the cell therapy-focused company announced that updated data from the ongoing Phase 1/2 trial of MB-106, a CD20-targeted, autologous CAR T-cell therapy, show a favorable safety and efficacy profile in patients with Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia, a rare form of blood cancer.

MB-106 is being developed in a collaboration between Mustang and Fred Hutch Cancer Center to treat patients with relapsed or refractory B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphomas and chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

The updated single-institution Phase 1/2 trial results were presented at the European Hematology Association 2024 Hybrid Congress.

All ten patients in the study were previously treated with Bruton’s tyrosine kinase inhibitors, and their disease continued to progress while on BTKi.

Overall, 90% (9/10) of the patients treated with MB-106 responded to treatment, including three complete responses, two very good partial responses, and four partial responses.

In addition, one patient experienced stable disease.

One of the patients who achieved a complete response has remained in remission for 31 months, with an immunoglobulin M (IgM) level that decreased rapidly to the normal range after treatment with MB-106 and has remained normal since.

Patients had a median of nine prior lines of therapy, and only one patient started additional anti-WM treatment after being treated with MB-106.

From a safety perspective, cytokine release syndrome (CRS) occurred in nine patients: five with grade 1 and four with grade 2. One patient experienced grade 1 immune effector cell-associated neurotoxicity syndrome (ICANS).

Despite dose escalation, no grade 3 or 4 CRS or grade 2, 3, or 4 ICANS has been observed.

The company said its ability to develop the MB-106 program for hematologic malignancies further depends on raising significant additional funding and/or consummating a strategic partnership.

Price Action: MBIO shares are up 193% at $0.38 during the premarket session at last check Monday.