What happened
Shares of Alzamend Neuro (ALZN -2.24%) surged 28% on Tuesday, as investors bought in ahead of the biotech's upcoming clinical data release for its experimental Alzheimer's treatment.
So what
Alzamend is an early stage biopharmaceutical company focused on creating therapies for neurodegenerative diseases and psychiatric conditions. Its investigational oral treatment for dementia related to Alzheimer's, AL001, has been shown to prevent cognitive impairment in mice.
Alzamend is currently conducting a phase 1 human clinical study to evaluate the safety and proper dosing for AL001 in a planned phase 2 trial. The biotech said in late November that it expected to deliver top-line data for its phase 1 study in "mid- to late-December."
Image source: Getty Images.
"We are very excited about this important milestone for Alzamend," CEO Stephan Jackman said at the time. "We believe these data will confirm AL001's potential as a replacement of the current lithium-based treatments and may provide a treatment to the over 40 million Americans suffering from Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative diseases and psychiatric disorders."
Now what
The news, combined with recent insider buying by one of Alzamend's largest shareholders, has led to a surge in mentions of the company on Twitter and other social media sites. This heightened social chatter appears to have boosted trading volumes in Alzamend's stock. More than 56 million shares were exchanged on Tuesday, which represented a tenfold increase from Alzamend's three-month average volume.
This trading frenzy helped drive Alzamend's stock price sharply higher on Tuesday, as investors positioned themselves to potentially profit from the biotech's forthcoming clinical trial results.
