Shares of ImmunoCellular Therapeutics Ltd. jumped 14 percent on Tuesday after the Woodland Hills biotech said European drug regulators granted “orphan” status to its experimental brain cancer drug.

Orphan drugs are treatments for either rare or particularly hard-to-treat diseases such as the one targeted by ImmunoCellular, glioblastoma, one of the most common and fast-developing types of brain tumor. ImmunoCellular’s drug, ICT-107, is in mid-stage clinical trials.

The European Medicines Agency grants the orphan drug developers a variety of incentives, including a 10-year period of market exclusivity, a streamlined review process, fee reductions, tax incentives and access to scientific advice during product development. ImmunoCellular previously received U.S. Food and Drug Administration orphan designation for ICT-107, with similar incentives.

Shares closed up 17 cents, or 14 percent, to $1.38 on the NYSE Markets.