Trevena Inc. (NASDAQ: TRVN) watched its shares soar in Monday’s after-hours session on news of a positive Phase 2 trial. The company announced positive data from its randomized, double-blind, placebo- and active-controlled Phase 2b trial of TRV130 in moderate to severe acute postoperative pain after abdominoplasty surgery.

For some background: Trevena is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company that discovers, develops and intends to commercialize therapeutics that use a novel approach to target G protein coupled receptors (GPCRs).

The study achieved its primary endpoint of statistically greater pain reduction than placebo over 24 hours. In addition, TRV130 was superior to morphine in pre-specified secondary measures, exhibiting significantly reduced nausea, vomiting, and hypoventilation events.

Neil Singla, M.D., chief scientific officer of Lotus Clinical Research and lead investigator of the study, said:

The data from this trial showed that TRV130, when given on-demand, matched morphine efficacy for pain relief with a markedly improved safety and tolerability profile. The challenges of safely and adequately titrating morphine are well recognized, and these data suggest that, if approved, TRV130 may provide a better option than currently available opioid analgesics.

Maxine Gowen, Ph.D., CEO of Trevena, also commented on the results:

The positive data from this study continue the impressive accumulation of evidence suggesting meaningful differentiation of TRV130 from morphine. The goal of new analgesic drug discovery has long been the provision of more powerful pain relief with reduced opioid-related adverse effects. We believe the Trevena biased ligand platform has delivered this profile in TRV130 and we look forward to starting Phase 3 development in early 2016.

Shares of Trevena closed Monday down 0.7%, at $6.00 in its 52-week trading range of $3.80 to $8.16. In the after-hours trading session, shares were up 33.5% to $8.01. The stock has a consensus analyst price target of $13.94.

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