The Seattle biotech industry finally got a shot of good news today when Dendreon announced that its prostate cancer drug had a positive impact on men suffering from the disease. The stock is soaring, more than tripling in early trading today to a 52-week high of $22.10. The stock is now up more than 140 percent, trading around $17.30 in heavy trading.

"The positive results from this landmark study provide confirmatory evidence demonstrating that treatment with PROVENGE may prolong survival," said Dendreon CEO Mitchell Gold in a statement.

The New York Times has a good overview of the long history of the drug, noting that Food and Drug Administration's controversial decision two years ago not to approve Provenge. From the Times:

The F.D.A.’s decision two years ago ignited an outcry from some prostate cancer patients and from investors in Dendreon, who said the agency was being unreasonable and denying patients a treatment that might work. Tensions ran so high at one point that two prostate cancer specialists, who had urged the F.D.A. not to approve the drug, attended a major conference accompanied by bodyguards, saying they had been threatened.

Dendreon plans to release detailed results from the study at the American Urological Association's Annual Meeting in Chicago later this month.

In a conference call this morning, Gold told investors and analysts that the results were "unambiguous” in terms of prolonging survival, reports Xconomy.  

Founded in 1992, Dendreon last year had revenue of $111,000 and a net loss of $71.6 million. It finished the year with $108 million in cash.

With today's results, the company is one step closer to bringing a commercial drug to market to help treat prostate cancer.