Cellectar Biosciences Inc (NASDAQ:CLRB) shares were down 4.08% on Thursday to $1.41 but recovered 0.71% in after-hours trading to $1.42. Share prices have been trading in a 52-week range of $1.00 to $12.30. The company has a market cap of $8.25 million at 6.17 million shares outstanding.

Cellectar Biosciences Inc is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company. Formerly known as Novelos Therapeutics, it is  engaged in developing phospholipid ether-drug conjugates (PDCs) for the treatment and diagnostic imaging of cancer. Its research and development program is based on its PDC cancer targeting delivery platform. Its pipeline consists of pre-clinical and clinical product candidates, including radiotherapeutic and chemotherapeutic PDCs.

Cellectar Biosciences Inc product portfolio includes CLR 131, which is designed to deliver cytotoxic radiation directly and selectively to cancer cells and cancer stem cells; CLR 125, which is for the treatment of micro metastatic disease; CLR 124, which is a cancer-targeting positron emission tomography imaging PDC; CLR 1502, which is for intraoperative tumor margin illumination and non-invasive tumor imaging, and CTX Product Portfolio, including CLR 1601-PTX, CLR 1602-PTX and CLR 1603-PTX product candidates.

In a press release this week, Cellectar Biosciences Inc provided a data update on the first two cohorts of the company’s Phase I clinical study of CLR 131 in patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma. The clinical benefit rate for this study is 80% despite patients receiving an average of four prior treatments, including stem cell transplant and triple drug combinations. Cohort 1 and Cohort 2 patients have demonstrated post treatment median survival of 11.9 months and 4.9 months, respectively, and continues to increase. The results will continue to be monitored to determine overall survival benefit.

The efficacy observed with CLR 131 at the 12.5 and 18.75 mCi/m2 single dose compares favorably to drugs recently approved for relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma. We believe that the 18.75 mCi/m2 dose could represent an acceptable single dose or multi-dose regimen for future studies,” said Jim Caruso, President and CEO of Cellectar Biosciences Inc. “Combined with its clean safety profile, we are optimistic regarding the potential of CLR 131 and look forward to seeing results from our recently initiated Cohort 3 at a single 25mCi/m2 dose.”

In terms of adverse events, patients in Cohort 1 experienced an average of 4.75 adverse events per patient while patients in Cohort 2 experienced an average of 4.25 events per patient. Cellectar Biosciences Inc is currently enrolling patients into the study’s third cohort at a single 25 mCi/m2 dose and plans to provide an additional data update in the first half of 2017.

Prior to this, the company announced the closing of its underwritten public offering of 1.6 million shares of its common stock and 68 shares of its preferred stock. This included $8 million offering and the underwriter’s full exercise of their $1.2 million over-allotment option for a total of $9.2 million in gross proceeds for the company.

We view the outcome of this offering as evidence of investor confidence in the company’s strategic direction and the consistent delivery of meaningful milestones in a relatively short period of time.  This is further emphasized by the underwriter’s exercise of their full over-allotment option, which elevates the total gross proceeds to more than $9 million,” said Caruso.

He added that the funds would help position the company  to further advance the clinical development of CLR 131 in multiple myeloma and other hematologic malignancies, including their NCI supported Phase II study, as well as the continued development of their PDC Delivery Platform through in-house R&D and partnered collaborations.

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