At the time of writing, Alterity shares are swapping hands for 4.25 cents apiece, up 41.67%.

What does Alterity do?

Alterity is an Australian biotech company focused on commercialising research into neurodegenerative disorders. These include Parkinsonian movement disorders, Alzheimer's disease, Huntington disease and others.

The company's lead candidate ATH434 is currently in development. It aims to block the aggregation of pathological proteins that cause brain degeneration. Current remedies include medications and lifestyle choices to manage symptoms, but there is no treatment to cure the disease.

What were the results?

Investors are pushing Alterity shares higher following the release of its oral presentation at the virtual American Academy of Neurology.

According to Alterity's update, its ATH434 compound has shown promising data for the treatment of Parkinsonian disorders.

The company highlighted the data obtained from the study strengthened evidence in ATH434 protecting brain cells and improving motor function. In a particular task, ATH434 advanced motor performance when assessing coordination and balance in animals. While findings are still new, the company stated that the important data provides the opportunity for future clinical development.

In addition, researchers also found a reduction in glial cell inclusions which is a pathological feature of Multiple System Atrophy (MSA).

Regarding the finding, Alterity CEO Dr David Stamler said, "These new data are very encouraging and provide a strong rationale for the disease-modifying potential of ATH434."

About the Alterity share price

Since the sharp and short-lived increase to 41 cents at the start of July last year, the Alterity share price has largely moved sideways. Over the last 6 months, the company's shares have mostly traded at or below the 5-cent mark. 

Alterity has a market capitalisation of roughly $77 million, with a tad over 2 billion shares on issue.

The post Why the Alterity (ASX:ATH) share price is skyrocketing 42% today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Alterity Therapeutics is an Australian biotechnology company that focuses on commercialising research into Parkinsonian movement disorders, Alzheimer's disease, Huntington disease, and other neurodegenerative disorders.

Michael J Fox Foundation puts up funding, Alterity share price soars

Alterity Therapeutics announced today that the company has been awarded a US$495,000 research grant from The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research.

The funding will be put toward determining the optimal dosing of ATH434 for Parkinson's disease (PD) based on imaging of brain iron.

After Alzheimer's disease, PD is the second most common age-related neurodegenerative disorder. It occurs when brain cells that make dopamine degenerate and ultimately die. 

ATH434 is Alterity Therapeutics' lead drug candidate for the treatment of PD. It's considered the first of a new generation of small molecules designed to inhibit the aggregation of pathological proteins implicated in neurodegeneration.

This is the second grant the company has received from The Michael J. Fox Foundation to continue its ATH434 research.

Highlights from the Alterity Therapeutics Q2 FY21 report

In addition to today's news, Alterity Therapeutics released its second-quarter FY21 report on 28 January 2021.

Following a successful $35 million placement, Alterity advised that the company will continue to progress the Phase 2 clinical development program for ATH434. 

Some of the big institutional Alterity Therapeutics shareholders include UBS AG, Australia, Merrill Lynch International Limited, and Credit Suisse AG.

Discussing Q2 FY21 achievements, the company's new CEO Dr David Stamler said: 

We've made important progress throughout the quarter with our commercialisation program for ATH434, including the initiation of our MSA natural history study and growing scientific validation of our library of compounds. I look forward to evaluating new opportunities for PBT2 in the important area of antibiotic resistance. We are well capitalized to continue to advance the company in the coming year.

Geoffrey Kempler, who founded the company in November 1997, stepped down from the CEO role and continues as non-executive chair.

The Alterity share price has powered up roughly 116% over the previous 12-month period.

The post Here's why the Alterity Therapeutics (ASX:ATH) share price blasted 20% higher today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Approval of US patent 

The new patent is the result of Alterity's in-house discovery research and is central to its next generation drug development portfolio focused on neurodegenerative diseases. 

Alterity's lead product, ATH434, is showing potential to treat various forms of atypical Parkinsonism. Parkinsonian disorders are a group of diseases in which individuals experience slowness of movement, stiffness and tremor. They include Parkinson's disease and Multiple System Atrophy, as well as Alzheimer's disease. The first disease target selected by Alterity is Multiple System Atrophy, a highly debilitating disease with no approved treatments. 

The US patent confers on Alterity 20 years of exclusivity, providing a strong basis for continued drug development and commercialisation and new compound identification within its extensive drug discovery library to target important neurodegenerative diseases. 

Commenting on the news, Alterity CEO Geoffrey Kempler said the patent established "an excellent foundation for the company to pursue multiple therapeutics across a spectrum of neurodegenerative disease".

The patent will allow the company to fully prosecute these opportunities with confidence in the coming years to address some of the most devastating brain diseases which currently have few or no treatment options. 

The day the Alterity share price jumped 2000% 

On 1 July 2020, the Alterity share price jumped more than 2000% from 1.7 cents to a peak of 41 cents before closing at 16.5 cents. This followed an announcement from the company that it had received guidance from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in relation to the development pathway for ATH43. 

Alterity met with the FDA following its successful Phase 1 clinical trial and further data analysis. The pre-IND (investigational new drug) meeting was to obtain input on the clinical development plan for ATH434, including feedback on the Phase 2 study design. 

Alterity reached an agreement with the FDA on the non-clinical investigations required to support the Phase 2 study. In parallel with its US strategy, the company also plans to pursue a regulatory pathway in Europe and Australia. 

The post Why Alterity Therapeutics (ASX:ATH) share price has surged up 27% today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Let's take a further look at Alterity and what it announced.

What does Alterity do?

Alterity is an Australian biotech company that focuses on commercialising research into neurodegenerative disorders. These include Parkinsonian movement disorders, Alzheimer's disease, Huntington disease and others.

The company's lead candidate, ATH434, is currently in development. It aims to block the aggregation of pathological proteins that cause brain degeneration. Current remedies include medications and lifestyle choices to the manage symptoms, but there is no treatment to cure the disease.

Completed placement

Alterity advised it has received binding commitment for a capital raising of $35 million. The placement will be via two tranches to top tier institutional investors in Australia and North America. In addition, new institutional and sophisticated investors from Australia, the United Kingdom and North America will take part.

The fully subscribed capital raise was conducted at an offer price of 3.7 cents. This represented a 25.7% discount on the 30-day volume weighted average price prior to the trading halt. The company said that for every share allocated in tranche two of the placement, one option will be issued.

The option will have an exercise price of 7 cents and an expiry date of three years post allotment.

The first tranche is expected to raise approximately $10 million under the current placement capacity. The second tranche is valued at $25 million, subject to shareholder approval planned on 18 November at the company's AGM.

The new shares to be issued will rank equally with the existing fully paid Alterity ordinary shares.

Where are the funds going to?

The proceeds of the placement will used to progress Alterity's clinical development program for ATH434. This will include a natural history study and a phase II trial targeting multiple system atrophy patients.

Furthermore, ongoing research and discovery, as well as working capital, will be allocated a portion of these funds.

Management commentary

Alterity Chair and CEO, Mr Geoffrey Kempler commented on positive feedback to fund ATH434. He said:

We are thrilled with the response of global investors in supporting Alterity to advance our lead compound ATH434 for the treatment of MSA to later stage patient trials.

We believe that our science is unique, validated, and is capturing the attention of physicians and researchers for its potential to have a positive impact on the lives of many people suffering from Parkinsonian diseases which currently have no cure.

The post Alterity (ASX:ATH) share price lower on completed placement appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Although the company has not released any price sensitive news, it can be assumed that the price leap is a reflection of yesterday's news.

What did Alterity announce yesterday?

Alterity's announcement yesterday highlighted independent data that confirmed the safety profile of the company's lead drug candidate, ATH434. The animal study tested ATH434 against multiple system atrophy (MSA) and confirmed that the drug reduced alpha-synuclein pathology, preserved neurons and improved motor performance in patients with MSA.

Alterity will present the findings at the 2020 International Congress of Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders and the American Neurological Association's annual meeting. The company will also present cardiac safety data from its Phase 1 study of ATH434. This will be the first time that information is shared with international clinicians and researchers.

What is the outlook for Alterity?

Biotech company Alterity focuses on therapies for neurodegenerative diseases such as MSA, which is an atypical form of Parkinson's disease that can lead to rapid motor degeneration and paralysis.

Alterity's lead candidate, ATH434, is an orally bio-available, brain penetrant that's designed to inhibit the accumulation of pathological proteins involved in neurodegeneration.

As a result, Alterity's therapy has the potential to treat Parkinson's disease and other atypical forms of the disease such as MSA.

According to Alterity's management, there is an unmet medical need for new treatments for MSA with most symptoms of the disease remaining unaddressed by available drugs for Parkinson's disease.

Alterity is now pursuing a global development strategy for the testing and commercialisation of the drug, after last month announcing it had established a development pathway for ATH434 in MSA with the US Food and Drug Administration.

The Alterity share price has surged more than 96% in the past 2 days, after rocketing a further 50% today. At the time of writing, the Alterity share price is trading near it's intraday high of 7.2 cents.

The post Why Alterity Therapeutics' share price has rocketed 96% in 2 days appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

What new data has Alterity released?

Earlier today, Alterity released an announcement informing the market of new clinical and experimental pharmacology data for its lead drug candidate 'ATH434'. The new data was generated from experiment testing ATH434 in an animal model of Multiple System Atrophy (MSA) and confirmed that the drug reduces alpha-synuclein pathology, preserves neurons and improves motor performance in patients with MSA.

As a result, Alterity noted that the new data has been selected for presentation at the 2020 International Congress of Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders and the American Neurological Association's annual meeting. In addition, Alterity will also present cardiac safety data from its Phase 1 study of ATH434, which will be the first-time information will be shared with international clinicians and researchers.

What does Alterity do?

Alterity is a biotechnology company that is focused on therapies for neurodegenerative diseases. The company's lead candidate, ATH434, is an orally bio-available, brain penetrant that's designed to inhibit the accumulation of pathological proteins involved in neurodegeneration. As indicated by today's news, ATH434 has been shown to reduce the accumulation of alpha-synuclein proteins in animal models and acts by redistributing labile iron in the brain.

As a result, Alterity's therapy has the potential to treat Parkinson's disease and other atypical forms of the disease such as MSA. MSA is a rare, rapidly progressive neurological disorder affecting adults and has no known cause. According to Alterity's management, there is an unmet medical need for new treatments for MSA with most symptoms of the disease remaining unaddressed by available drugs for Parkinson's disease.

In late June, Alterity announced that that it had received guidance from the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for a development pathway for ATH434, with the company aiming to undertake a global development strategy.

Foolish takeaway

At the time of writing, the Alterity share price is trading more than 58% higher for the day at 5.4 cents, after hitting an intraday high of 5.8 cents earlier.

The post Alterity Therapeutics share price rockets 70% on new data appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Among the five are some very familiar names, but also a couple which may take investors by surprise.

Here are the most traded ASX shares from last week:

Etherstack PLC (ASX: ESK)

Etherstack shares were in demand with investors last week and became the most traded on the ASX. It accounted for 3.8% of total trades on the CommSec platform. Over the period the UK based tech company's shares rocketed an incredible 658% higher. Investors were buying Etherstack's shares after it announced a global agreement with Samsung Electronics.

Alterity Therapeutics Ltd (ASX: ATH)

The next most traded share was Alterity Therapeutics, which accounted for 2.7% of total trades. Alterity Therapeutics is a developer of therapeutic drugs for the treatment of a number of neurological disorders. Last week the U.S. FDA provided it with a development pathway for its ATH434 candidate. ATH434 is the company's lead compound for the treatment of Multiple System Atrophy (MSA), a Parkinsonian disorder. The buying was so strong it drove the Alterity Therapeutics share price as high as 41 cents. The excitement appears to have worn off now. Its shares have fallen back to a lowly 4 cents.

Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P) 

This buy now pay later company's shares weren't far behind and accounted for 2.1% of total ASX trades on the CommSec platform. Over the period the company's shares climbed a decent 5.3%. This was despite there being no news out of Zip Co last week. However, with the pandemic accelerating the shift to online shopping, investors appear confident that the buy now pay later sector is well-placed to profit.

Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) 

This fellow buy now pay later provider was just a touch behind Zip Co and accounted for 2% of all trades on the platform. Afterpay's shares were very strong performers during the week and recorded an impressive 18% gain. This took the payments company's shares to a new record high. It looks set to be another eventful week for its shares. On Tuesday Afterpay announced an $800 million capital raising and released a very strong trading update.

Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT) 

Finally, this travel agent giant was the fifth most traded stock over the week, accounting for 1.9% of total trades. Last week Flight Centre announced that it secured a debt facility of up to £65 million in the UK to help it navigate the tough trading conditions. While this was a positive, a spike in coronavirus cases in Victoria offset this news and weighed on its shares.

The post Why Etherstack and these shares were the most traded on the ASX last week appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.