Cassava Sciences soars over 200% to 10-year high on positive Alzheimer's treatment data

• Shares of Cassava Sciences soared over 200% Tuesday after the company announced positive data on its leading drug candidate for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease.
• The stock price of Cassava Sciences surged toward an almost 10-year high, on track to close at its highest level since June 2011.
• Simufilam, the drug candidate, improved the cognition and behavior of patients following six months of treatment.
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Shares of Cassava Sciences soared as much as 221% Tuesday after the biopharmaceutical company announced upbeat data on its leading drug candidate for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease.

The stock price of the Austin, Texas-based company surged toward an almost 10-year high, on track to close to its highest level since June 2011.

The company released the results of an interim analysis from an open-label study of simufilam, its lead drug candidate for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. Cassava Sciences in a statement said the cognition and behavior scores of its patients following six months of simufilam treatment improved.

"An improvement in cognition and behavior tells us this drug candidate has potential to provide lasting treatment effects for people living with Alzheimer's disease," said Remi Barbier, Cassava Sciences president and CEO. "It's an exciting development."

More than five million Americans are living with the disease, according to the Alzheimer's Association.

The clinical study, which started in March 2020, is an on-going, one-year, open-label, multi-center study evaluating the long-term safety and tolerability of simufilam in 100 patients with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's disease. The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health.

Shares of Cassava Sciences $60.34 as of 2:51PM E.T. on Tuesday.