Antisense Therapeutics has been capturing the market’s attention with its share price rising more than five-fold since the start of this year. The latest positive news, which triggered a 15.6 per cent bounce in its share price last Wednesday, came after the drugs company announced successful results from a clinical trial of a growth hormone-receptor targeting drug, known as ATL1103. But the company’s stock price lost those gains later in the week, closing at 29¢ on Friday. The new drug is aimed at helping people who suffer from acromegaly, a chronic metabolic disorder where there is too much growth hormone and the body tissues gradually grow bigger. Antisense said phase one of the clinical trial proved that the drug was safe with no serious adverse events. Testing also came in on budget and ahead of schedule. The company is now progressing to phase two of the clinical trial, involving testing it on acromegalic patients.