Genmab surges on successful drug study with Glaxo

COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - Shares in Danish biotech firm Genmab (GEN.CO) rose by as much as a third on Friday after an experimental treatment for leukaemia it developed with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK.L) proved effective in a pivotal trial.

The companies said late on Thursday the antibody drug met its goal in the study of difficult-to-treat patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (LCC), producing a response rate well in excess of the 25 percent minimum needed.

By 0725 GMT, Genmab traded up 26 percent at 324 crowns, after a high of 345, while Glaxo, for which the drug is just one of many in development, added 1.5 percent to 11.93 pounds.

Analysts at Lehman Brothers said the results for what would be Genmab's first commercial product were well ahead of expectations and strongly supported a regulatory filing in the fourth quarter of 2008, with potential U.S. launch by mid-2009.

The positive results were likely to trigger an estimated $60 million payment to Genmab from Glaxo from the more than $1.1 billion of outstanding milestone payments, they added.

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(Reporting by Gelu Sulugiuc and Ben Hirschler; Editing by Paul Bolding)