Medivation touts Phase II data on Huntington’s therapy

Shares of Medivation surged--briefly--after the company announced mid-stage data on Dimebon showing that Huntington's [1] patients taking a three-month course of the drug demonstrated improved cognitive function compared to a placebo group. The Dimebon group suffered fewer falls on average than the placebo group. Researchers also noted an improvement for patients based on the United Huntington's Disease Rating Scale--but the results were not statistically significant. Shares jumped 22 percent but quickly slid back to a two percent gain, according to TheStreet. The CEO of Medivation says that the company will prepare for a Phase III trial.

"To my knowledge, no other drug has resulted in statistically significant benefit in cognition in Huntington's disease patients in a randomized, well-controlled trial," said Karl Kieburtz, M.D., M.P.H., the principal investigator. "Cognitive impairment is the most important therapeutic unmet need in Huntington's disease. I am pleased by this result and Dimebon's favorable safety profile, and believe that further development of this compound is warranted."

- check out Medivation's release [2]
- read the report [3] from TheStreet

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Medivation forges $100M deal to fund trial [4]
Medivation shares jump on Alzheimer's data [5]
Cells prompted to "eat" Huntington proteins [1]
Huntington's study reveals insights on genetic testing [6]