The battered shares of Avanir Pharmaceuticals soared this morning after researchers announced that Zenvia had demonstrated positive results in a late-stage study for nerve pain in diabetic patients. Patients taking Zenvia reported significantly less pain in their journals compared to the control group, which received a placebo. The Zenvia group also fared better on pain relief scales and pain intensity ratings. More than 20 percent of two groups receiving different doses of the drug discontinued treatment due to adverse events, compared to 11.4 percent of the placebo group.

Avanir was recently hit hard by the FDA's demand that it host a new trial for Zenvia as a treatment for involuntary emotional expression disorder. That news sent its shares into a nose dive, forcing the company to shutter a research facility and consolidate its offices in Aliso Viejo, CA. Company officials say they are planning to meet with the FDA to outline plans for a new study.

- see the release on the study data
- here's the AP report

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