Immune Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:IMNP) Just Took Off

Take a look at these snippets from the last time we covered Immune Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:IMNP), back on August 31 as part of this piece.The first relates to the company's ability to turn sentiment around and start to stage a recovery:

"It’s a biotech stock and biotech stocks need catalysts to get moving… does Immune have any catalysts set to hit press near term? The answer is yes."

The next details the catalyst we highlighted as potentially being the one to turn things around:

"A phase 2 open label study of bertilimumab in bullous pemphigoid, an orphan autoimmune dermatological condition affecting approximately 30,000 patients in the United States, is set to wrap up and read out during the second quarter of next year."

The third and final is our conclusion:

"Immune is very much beaten down right now but that doesn’t mean it’s out and there could be value in a cheap exposure at current prices."

On that date, the company traded for $1.02 share. At market close on Wednesday, September 27, Immune went for $1.40 a share, having risen as high as $1.73 during the early morning session. Premarket activity on Thursday has added a couple more points to this rise.That's a 70% premium on the price at which we made the above conclusion and a 78% premium to the day's close. Not bad.What's driving the action?That's right – the company just put out data from the above-mentioned bullous pemphigoid trial and the data hit press as positive. For those not familiar with bullous pemphigoid, it is an autoimmune condition that is rooted in the immune system creating and distributing antibodies that break down the bonds between skin cells in our bodies. This breaking down of the bonds translates to open sores and blisters and, given the nature of the disease, it's incredibly difficult to treat with any long-term effectiveness. IMNP Daily ChartImmune is trying to change this with bertilimumab, which is a monoclonal antibody that essentially stops the bonds being broken. The company is currently trying to prove this hypothesis as part of a clinical development program and related data comes a phase 2 study and – specifically – three new patients that build on the data already collected from three patients earlier on this year.What did the numbers show?To put it bluntly, that the drug seems to work and work incredibly well. All six patients were measured for results using what's called the BPDAI Total Activity Score on day 84 (except one, which was measured against the same scale but on day 56). This is an industry-standard scale in this condition and an improvement using this measurement is largely seen as gold standard in the space.In this instance, all six patients experienced an 85% decline from baseline in symptoms as measured against BPDAI. The mean decline came in at 72% and four of six patients experienced a decline of 90% or more.It's a small trial, sure, but the data couldn’t really have been stronger.So what's next?Well, the target enrollment for this study is 15, so we expect to see some regular updates over the coming twelve months. If these updates support the data we've just seen, current prices are going to prove just the beginning of a longer-term upside revaluation. Further, these aren’t the only data expected near term. There’s a phase 2 study of the same drug in ulcerative colitis that should read out during the second quarter of next year. This latest data supports a positive readout from that trial, so markets are going to be watching it closely as indicative of long-term success.Cash isn’t great (just shy of $3 million at last count) so there's a dilution risk over the coming couple of quarters. Keep that in mind. If the data continues to come in as positive, however, any value lost through dilution shouldn’t be too impactful.Check out our previous coverage of this one here.We will be updating our subscribers as soon as we know more. For the latest updates on IMNP, sign up below!Image courtesy of kennysarmy via FlickrDisclosure: We have no position in IMNP and have not been compensated for this article.