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Zogenix Inc. shares rocketed almost 200% Friday, after the company said a late-stage trial of a treatment for a rare type of epilepsy called Dravet syndrome met its main goal. The Phase 3 trial of the drug, ZX008, low-dose fenfluramine hydrochloride, met its primary endpoint of reducing the frequency of convulsive seizures in children and young adults. “If approved, ZX008 could play an important role in treating this devastating condition,” said Joseph Sullivan M.D., director of the Pediatric Epilepsy Center in UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital San Francisco, and head of the trial. Dravet syndrome is a rate, lifelong form of epilepsy that begins in the first year of life with frequent seizures and other symptoms, including behavioral and developmental delays, orthopedic conditions and delayed language. The disease affects 1 in 15,700 individuals, according to the Dravet Syndrome Foundation. Zogenix shares were halted for the news before surging as the halt was lifted. They had gained about 6% in 2017 through Thursday, while the S&P 500 has gained about 12%.

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Zogenix Inc. said Friday a late-stage trial of a treatment for a rare type of epilepsy called Dravet syndrome met its main goal. The Phase 3 trial of the drug, ZX008, low-dose fenfluramine hydrochloride, met its primary endpoint of reducing the frequency of convulsive seizures in children and young adults. “If approved, ZX008 could play an important role in treating this devastating condition,” said Joseph Sullivan M.D., director of the Pediatric Epilepsy Center in UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital San Francisco, and head of the trial. Dravet syndrome is a rate, lifelong form of epilepsy that begins in the first year of life with frequent seizures and other symptoms, including behavioral and developmental delays, orthopedic conditions and delayed language. The disease affects 1 in 15,700 individuals, according to the Dravet Syndrome Foundation. Zogenix shares were halted for the news, but have gained about 6% in 2017, while the S&P 500 has gained about 12%.

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Merck & Co. said Friday it would discontinue the development of the investigational combination regimens MK-3682B and MK-3682C for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C, after a review of available Phase 2 efficacy data. The drug maker also considered the growing number of treatment options available, including Merck’s own Zepatier. “We will continue to study ZEPATIER to understand even more about its role in treating chronic hepatitis C infection and will continue to work with others to help bring Zepatier to appropriate patients with chronic hepatitis C genotype 1 or 4 infection, the genotypes which make up the majority of patients with chronic hepatitis C infection,” said Eliav Barr, senior vice president at Merck Research Laboratories. The stock, which was inactive in premarket trade, has slipped 0.1% over the past three months, while the SPDR S&P Pharmaceuticals ETF has shed 2.3% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average has gained 5.1%.

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PTC Therapeutics Inc. stock gained 10% in after-hours action Thursday after trading was halted for the entire regular session as a Food and Drug Administration panel discussed the company’s Duchenne muscular dystrophy drug. The panel eventually voted not to approve the drug, saying that more testing was required to prove its efficacy, though they did not completely reject the drug. The FDA does not have to follow the panel’s recommendation, as it showed in controversially approving a drug for the same disease last year from Sarepta Therapeutics Inc. despite a panel recommendation against the approval. After being halted at Wednesday’s closing price of $17.46 all day, PTC shares resumed trading just before 6 p.m. Eastern time Thursday and topped $19.

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Invesco Ltd. said late Thursday it has agreed to buy the ETF business of Guggenheim Investments for $1.2 billion in a cash-and-debt deal. The acquisition is expected to close in the second quarter, pending approvals, Invesco said. With the deal, Invesco’s ETF assets under management would total more than $196 billion, the company said. Shares of Invesco fell 0.2% in late trading after ending the regular session down 0.4%.

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Twitter Inc. has found hundreds of accounts that have ties to Russian operatives, the company said Thursday in a blog post. The social network has linked just over 200 accounts to 470 pages and accounts on Facebook Inc.’s platform which have ties to a Russian troll farm that is charged with interfering in the 2016 U.S. election. Twitter also said that three accounts from the Kremlin-linked news site RT had spent $274,100 on ads in 2016, targeting U.S. followers of the “mainstream media” and mostly promoted RT tweets about news stories, the blog said. The company met with congressional investigators Thursday morning as a part of a widening probe into Russian interference during the 2016 campaign and how they used tech titans such as Alphabet Inc. , Facebook and Twitter. Bots also played a role in the election and Twitter said that it took action on thousands of tweets and accounts that attempted to suppress or interfere with voting rights, though these accounts did not have “obvious Russian origin” the blog said. Twitter stock is edged down less than 1% to $16.84 after hours. The company’s shares are up 3.4% this year, as the S&P 500 index rose 12%.

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Shares of Tyson Foods Inc. jumped more than 7% late Thursday after the company raised its outlook and announced a restructuring that includes layoffs. Thanks to “much better than expected” profit in the beef segment, the company upped its forecast for fiscal 2017’s adjusted per-share earnings to between $5.20 a share and $5.30 a share, from $4.95 a share to $5.05 a share. Guidance for fiscal 2018 was set for adjusted earnings of $5.70 a share to $5.85 a share. Tyson plans to reduce its headcount by 450 jobs across several areas and levels, with most the eliminated positions coming from corporate offices, the company said in a statement. In its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings report on Nov. 13, Tyson plans to report restructuring and other charges of $140 million to $150 million, it said. The restructuring aims to save $200 million, $400 million and $600 million over fiscal years 2018, 2019 and 2020, the company said. Shares of Tyson ended the regular trading day down 1.1%.

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Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price said Thursday he’ll reimburse taxpayers for the charter flights he has taken on official business and that he’ll stop taking such flights while at HHS. “Today, I will write a personal check to the U.S. Treasury for the expenses of my travel on private charter planes,” he said in a statement. President Donald Trump has said he is unhappy with Price for taking the flights and indicated he could fire him over the matter. Price did not say how much his check would be for, but the flights have been estimated at $400,000.

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