Why are shares of Adherex Technologies spiking today?

Shares of Adherex Technologies (TSX:AHX) are spiking today, up 28.8% to $2.06 at press time. The move comes after the stock rose $0.48 to $1.60 on busier than normal volume Friday.

Investors looking for a reason for the street’s sudden interest may be hard pressed to find one though; the company hasn’t issued a press release since posting its Q1 results nearly two weeks ago.

In that report, the company revealed a loss that had narrowed to $3.19-million, down from a loss of $4.10 in the same period the year prior. Adherex has not yet generated any revenue.

One possible catalyst lies in the fact Dr. David Freyer of Children’s Hospital in Los Angeles will report on a 135 patient study by the U.S.-based Children’s Oncology Group, which used Adherex’s lead product, Sodium Thiosulfate, at the 2014 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting in Chicago, which will take place June 1st. The oral presentation is entitled “The Effects of Sodium Thiosulfate (STS) on Cisplatin-induced Hearing Loss: A Report from the Children’s Oncology Group”.

Founded in 1996, Adherex Technologies, which focuses primarily on Cancer therapeutics, shored up its balance sheet to a degree last November with a (U.S.) $1.6-million private placement. The company hopes its lead product, Sodium Thiosulfate, will begin a march that will continue with the five other candidates in its pipeline. The treatment, which is a chemo-protectant against hearing loss associated with platinum-based chemotherapy, is already FDA-approved as an antidote for cyanide poisoning and has received orphan drug designation in the U.S. for the prevention of platinum-based ototoxicity in pediatric patients.