News of Patent Pushes Up Techniclone Shares

Techniclone Corp.’s stock, which has increased more than sevenfold this year, moved up again Wednesday after the Tustin company said it has been granted a patent for one of its main systems for diagnosing and treating solid tumors.

The company’s stock closed at $4.22, up 53 cents a share, in Nasdaq trading. It had hit a 52-week low of 27 cents in mid-December and has climbed from 30 cents a share since the first day of trading this year. It hit a high of $4.31 on Jan. 24.

The developer of cancer treatments said in a press release that the new patent broadens its coverage for the use of technology as an imaging agent to determine the effectiveness of conventional cancer therapy.

The announcement is the latest in the past six weeks that show improvements at the company, which also has benefited from a general run-up in the prices of biomedical stocks.

At the end of the year, it announced that it had received $300,000 in financing and resolved the default on a $3.3-million loan. Last month, it said it licensed one of its technologies for about $8 million, including an upfront payment. In a later release, it said it had obtained rights to an antibody that can inhibit tumor vessel growth.