Cancer-drug results buoy biotech's stock

Cell Therapeutics stock rose nearly 47 percent Monday after the Seattle company said its experimental cancer drug Pixantrone increased the remission rate for patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Pixantrone showed "significant increases" in complete remission rates, overall response rates, the percentage of non-Hodgkin's patients whose response lasted four months or longer, and progression-free survival, the company said Monday in a statement.

The late-stage study followed 140 patients with an aggressive form of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma who didn't respond to prior treatments, including chemotherapy, the company said.

The data were insufficient to show whether Pixantrone helped patients live longer, Cell Therapeutics said.

Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma is a cancer that attacks the white blood cells and is often marked by lymph nodes that are larger than normal, according to the National Cancer Institute. About 66,000 new U.S. cases are diagnosed each year, and the disease kills about 19,500 people annually, according to the institute.

Cell Therapeutics will ask U.S. regulators for an expedited review of the drug later this month, in a move that might lead to approval by the fourth quarter, Chief Executive Officer James Bianco said.

The company's stock climbed 67 cents to $2.10 Monday, its highest value since Sept. 3,

Cell Therapeutics, which is also testing treatments for lung and ovarian cancers, presented the Pixantrone study results at the American Society for Clinical Oncology meeting in Orlando, Fla.