ImClose stock rocketed skyward today on the news that Erbitux, which is currently approved to treat cancer in the colon, head and neck, extended survival in patients with small-cell lung cancer. The stock moved because the results were unexpected. At the same time, though, the full story isn’t really known, because full details weren’t released, so it’s not completely clear how much longer patients lived. Here are a couple of interpretations….

“The purpose of the trial was to investigate the efficacy of Erbitux in combination with chemotherapy in comparison to chemotherapy alone in patients with advanced non small cell lung cancer who had not received prior chemotherapy. In our opinion, this news is clearly positive; however we will reserve judgment until we see the complete data set,” writes Rodman & Renshaw analyst Michael King in an investor note. He adds that complete data won’t be known until next year.

Jim Reddoch of Friedman Billings Ramsey wrote that “We think the data could put Erbitux on equal footing with (Genentechs’) Avastin, since Avastin’s two-month benefit is less than what Erbitux has shown in its earlier lung cancer trials.”

The study was conducted by ImClone’s partner in Europe, Merck KgGA, whose stock also rose significantly.