Why Shares of CymaBay Therapeutics Are Soaring Friday

Shares of CymaBay Therapeutics (NASDAQ: CBAY) were up more than 37% as of 11:15 a.m. ET on Friday. The clinical-stage biotech saw its shares rise after Ipsen and Genfit announced phase 3 trials data for elafibranor to treat the rare autoimmune liver disease, primary biliary cholangitis (PBC). CymaBay's shares are up more than 72% this year.

CymaBay focuses on cutting-edge therapies for patients with liver and other chronic diseases. The key takeaway on Friday for the company was that its own PBC therapy, Seladelpar, in a phase 3 trial, showed greater efficacy than elafibranor, with 78.2% of patients showing a complete response rate at the 10 milligram dose, compared to 51% for elafibranor. 

PBC primarily affects women, including 1 in 1000 women over the age of 40, and leaves patients with impaired bile flow and accumulation of toxic bile acids.

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Source Fool.com