BioSante Pharmaceuticals Inc. said Thursday its potential pancreatic cancer treatment met key goals in a midstage study.

The company’s stock surged 32 cents, or 16 percent, to $2.35 in premarket trading.

The company said a newly published study showed the vaccine increased the median survival rate of patients by more than 25 percent to 24.8 months. The results were published in the February issue of the Annals of Surgery and involved 60 patients undergoing treatment at the Johns Hopkins Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center in Baltimore.

The company plans on starting an additional study this year.

The potential prostate cancer drug is part of BioSante’s GVAX vaccine program. It is referred to as a vaccine because it is designed to train a patient’s immune system to fight cancer. A drug using a similar method, called Provenge, is already made by Dendreon Corp.