Why Idera Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Shares Popped

Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of Idera Pharmaceuticals , a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing DNA and RNA-based therapeutics for autoimmune diseases, advanced as much as 13% after announcing the publication of preclinical data with regard to treating psoriasis.

So what: According to Idera's press release, the publication, Suppression of Molecular Inflammatory Pathways by Toll-Like Receptor 7, 8, and 9 Antagonists in a Model of IL-23-Induced Skin Inflammation, noted in testing on mice that antagonists of TLR's 7 and 9 normalized expression of IL-17 induced genes, which are involved in the inflammatory pathway. Further analysis from this study showed all the TLR's (7, 8, and 9) "down-regulated the JAK-STAT, IL-23, IL-12, and IL-17 canonical pathways," resulting in a hypothesis that "IL-23-driven inflammation in mouse skin may be dependent on signaling mediated by TLR's 7, 8 and 9."

Now what: Without getting too scientific here, what the above data simply demonstrates is that inhibiting specific toll-like receptors in mice demonstrated efficacy that would suggest these TLR's could be a therapeutic target for the treatment of psoriasis. Idera is currently conducting a mid-stage trial involving IMO-8400, an antagonist of TLR's 7, 8, and 9 for the treatment of moderate-to-severe plague psoriasis, lending excitement that its study will deliver positive results. As for me, while I find this new treatment pathway exciting, I'd wait for the results from Idera's trial before even considering the thought of sending this wholly clinical-stage company's stock any higher.