It’s taken four long years to get to this point but the latest data from Living Cell Technologies’ brain implant Parkinson’s disease drug shows it is safe and does work — mostly.

That detail alone was enough to send Living Cell (ASX:LCT) shares up 15 per cent on Monday morning to 5.4c.

The company’s drug NTCELL works by coating choroid plexus cells from newborn pigs — the cells that produce cerebrospinal fluid in the brain — and turning that into a capsule that can be implanted into the brain.

As Parkinson’s is a long-term, degenerative disorder, the company conducts regular follow-ups with patients who have received the treatment at varying intervals.

This morning it said it had received data from a four-year follow-up of four patients who received NTCELL in Phase I and Phase IIa trials designed to test safety and efficacy.

One patient “continues to show clinically significant improvement in Parkinson’s disease symptoms”, two patients showed no change and one patient withdrew at the two-year mark in order to seek deep brain stimulation (DBS) treatment.

Living Cell (ASX:LCT) shares over the past six months.

“This data should be regarded as individual case studies. The small patient number and variability of the disease limit conclusions regarding efficacy. It is encouraging that no safety issues have occurred,” chief Dr Ken Taylor said.

He added that Phase IIb data at the two-year follow-up mark will be read out by May this year.

The company received a 47 per cent share price bump back in November, when initial analysis of that data from 18 months of follow-up showed “statistically significant improvement” in patients who received 80 microcapsules of NTCELL.