--- description: Shares for Loxo Oncology jumped after trials suggested its drug shrinks tumors. title: Hype Over a New Cancer Drug Has Its Company's Stock Spiking image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8abe6422058a57e9/6988d01d196cf4405f0406c9/perscription.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Business](/section/business/) ## Business Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Cancer](/tag/cancer/) ## Cancer Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Hype Over a New Cancer Drug Has Its Company's Stock Spiking  by [Julia Zorthian](/author/julia-zorthian/)  ## Julia Zorthian Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 5, 2017 3:35 PM CUT  Getty Images  by [Julia Zorthian](/author/julia-zorthian/)  ## Julia Zorthian Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 5, 2017 3:35 PM CUT Results from a small trial of a new oral cancer drug [have shown preliminary success](http://www.asco.org/about-asco/press-center/news-releases/new-drug-shows-durable-efficacy-across-diverse-pediatric-and "undefined"), and shares for the company that makes it have [already spiked](https://www.ft.com/content/c2e1e358-5df5-3669-8e6a-fd35e20681e8 "undefined") in response. The drug, larotrectinib, worked across various different cancers in both adults and children, according to the results. The study of 55 patients was presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s (ASCO) Annual Meeting on Sunday but it has not yet been peer reviewed, [according to ASCO](http://www.asco.org/about-asco/press-center/news-releases/new-drug-shows-durable-efficacy-across-diverse-pediatric-and "undefined"). Seventy-six percent of patients with 17 different types of cancer had tumor shrinkage, and after 12 months, 79% of the responsive patients did not report cancer progression. That does not mean that it improved the lifespan of or the quality of life for the cancer patients, as those were not the end results studied here. The company Loxo Oncology funded the study for its drug, and its stocks [jumped by more than 40% by Monday](https://www.ft.com/content/c2e1e358-5df5-3669-8e6a-fd35e20681e8 "undefined"), indicating investor excitement about a potential new cancer treatment. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4805326/new-oral-drug-cancer-market/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4805326/new-oral-drug-cancer-market/"},"headline":"Hype Over a New Cancer Drug Has Its Company's Stock Spiking","datePublished":"2017-06-05T15:35:39.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T05:15:47.709Z","description":"Shares for Loxo Oncology jumped after trials suggested its drug shrinks tumors","url":"https://time.com/4805326/new-oral-drug-cancer-market/","keywords":["Cancer","health","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8abe6422058a57e9/6988d01d196cf4405f0406c9/perscription.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Julia Zorthian","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/julia-zorthian/"}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8abe6422058a57e9/6988d01d196cf4405f0406c9/perscription.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Pharmacist filling prescription in pharmacy","caption":"Pharmacist filling prescription in pharmacy","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/cancer/","name":"Cancer"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4805326/new-oral-drug-cancer-market/","name":"Hype Over a New Cancer Drug Has Its Company's Stock Spiking"}}]}] ```