Shares of CV Technologies Inc. soared nearly 60 per cent after the maker of the patented natural remedy Cold-fX said Health Canada will allow the company to claim the treatment is proven to reduce cold and flu symptoms by boosting the immune system.
Shares in the Edmonton company roared ahead after the news last week in heavy trading of 4.6 million shares on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
CV Technologies (TSX: CVQ) announced the federal government has approved wide-ranging new health claims for Cold-fX, which the company says is the first treatment of its kind and a top-seller among cold and flu remedies.
Cold-fX has been endorsed by several physicians, hockey celebrity Don Cherry and some high-profile athletes, including Olympian Clara Hughes, the National Hockey League and the NHL Players' Association.
"There's no cure for the common cold," Jacqueline Shan, president and CEO of CV Technologies, said in a statement. "So, in medicine the traditional strategy is if you can't treat the disease, you treat the symptoms.
"The Cold-fX strategy is to boost your immune system to help you avoid getting a cold or the flu in the first place, or if you do get one, to fight it more effectively."
The federally approved treatment claim for the product, which now has a licence and natural product number, states Cold-fX "helps reduce the frequency, severity and duration of cold and flu symptoms by boosting the immune system."
Comprehensive therapeutic claims require support by the highest level of scientific evidence: Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trials.
Shan said the product, which has undergone more than 10 years of research and seven clinical trials, should attract interest from the medical community.
Because Cold-fX is a patented product, it was issued a natural product number in the non-traditional category, which requires the highest level of scientific evidence.
In contrast, claims with the term "traditional" are not based on scientific evidence and products in the "monograph" category have claims that are not supported by specific research on their particular product.
The government safety review confirmed the safety profile of Cold-fX with no known side effects or drug interactions for generally healthy individuals.
This is rare, as most approved medicines, including over-the-counter cough and cold products, are associated with some adverse side effects.