Drug development company Fennec Pharmeuticals Inc. saw its stock price rise by more than 23 percent in its first day of trading on the Nasdaq.

The company began trading Wednesday at $8.85 and closed at $10.90 per share.

The specialty pharmaceutical company focuses on the development of Sodium Thiosulfate for the prevention of chemo-induced side effects in pediatric patients.

  • Summary from Rare Disease Report: “David Freyer, DO, of the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles and professor of pediatrics at the Keck School of Medicine at University of Southern California explains the mechanisms by which hearing loss can occur in children (and adults) treated with cisplatin, a chemotherapy agent given to many cancer patients.”

Fennec is currently studying STS through cooperative groups in two Phase 3 clinical studies pertaining to the survival and reduction of ototoxicity, or hearing loss.

One of the study groups, SIOPEL 6, delivered preliminary results on the study, showing that the addition of STS significantly reduces the chance of hearing loss in patients undergoing cisplatin, or platinum-based, chemotherapy.

The International Society of Pediatric Oncology announced its acceptance of an abstract presentation on the effects of SIOPEL 6 at the SIOP conference in October in Washington, D.C.

“We look forward to the expanded visibility, improved liquidity, and the potential diversification of our stockholder base that the trading on the Nasdaq may provide as we continue to focus on increasing stockholder value,” said Chief Executive Officer Rosty Raykov in a statement. “Our listing on the Nasdaq represents a significant corporate milestone as we continue our commitment towards serving an unmet medical need for pediatric patients with cisplatin chemotherapy pending the SIOPEL 6 results in Q4 2017.”

Once approved, the company plans to market STS under the brand name PEDMARK.

Fennec has been trading on the OTCQB since January 2009. It continued trading there until the market closed on Tuesday and then debuted on the Nasdaq under the ticker FENC.

Note: This story is from the North Carolina Business News Wire, a service of UNC-Chapel Hill’s School of Media and Journalism