Medivation (Nasdaq: MDVN) reported positive topline results in a multi-center, Phase 2 trial of Dimebon, which demonstrated a statistically significant improvement in cognitive function among 90 patients with mild-to-moderate Huntington’s disease. Dimebon also demonstrated behavioral improvements in these patients, but these results were not statistically significant over placebo. The drug candidate was very well tolerated and reported side effects were actually lower as compared to the placebo group in this study. Medivation announced that it will continue clinical development of Dimebon based on the improvement in mental function and favorable safety profile. The Company is also enrolling patients in a Phase 3 trial for Alzheimer’s disease to confirm the benefit in cognitive function and low incidence of side effects observed in clinical trials thus far for both indications.

The results were released after hours on Monday and shares of Medivation traded actively in the extended session with over 600,000 shares changing hands, representing almost twice the average daily trading volume. The stock closed the regular session on Monday at $12.06 with a volatile range of $12 to just under $15 during the extended session, closing up about 4% at $12.51 by the 8 pm close. Medivation is a heavily shorted stock, with about 25% of the float and 20 days to cover the short position of 6.7 million shares.

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