Drug maker Alexza Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq:ALXA) said that two of its drugs for treating schizophrenic patients showed positive initial results in clinical trials, sending its shares skyrocketing.

Shares of the Palo-Alto Calif.-based firm shot up 52 percent, over $5 to $15.25 before the market close on Monday.

The company said a 10-milligram dose of its AZ-004, or Staccato loxapine, for schizophrenic patients with acute agitation proved a significant reduction in agitation from baseline to the two-hour post-dose time point, compared with placebo.

AZ-004 is a product candidate that we believe could fill an important unmet need in the acute treatment of agitation in schizophrenic patients, said Thomas B. King, President and CEO of Alexza. AZ-004 combines drug delivery speed comparable to that of an intravenous injection, but with the simplicity, convenience and ease of administration of a simple, one-breath inhalation.

Results from a separate mid-phase clinical trial also found that the company's AZ-001 migraine headache medicine saw positive results in relieving pain within a 2-hour period compared with placebo.

The Company's technology, the Staccato system, vaporizes unformulated drug to form a condensation aerosol that allows rapid systemic drug delivery through deep lung inhalation.

Medicine