Shares of drug maker Memory Pharmaceuticals Corp. (NASDAQ: MEMY), skyrocketed on Monday, after the company announced it had has completed enrollment for Phase IIa trials of its Alzheimer's treatment on Thursday. The market was closed on Friday.

Shares of the Montvale, N.J.-based firm rose 78 cents, or 47.9 percent, to $2.41 in late afternoon trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market.

The firm said its MEM 1003 drug will enter a multi-center, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the drug in approximately 180 people.

Completion of enrollment in this trial is a key milestone in our Alzheimer's disease programs, said Stephen R. Murray, Vice President of Clinical Development at Memory Pharmaceuticals.

The firm's drug is a calcium modulator that that the firm believes may be able to help Alzheimer's patients. By blocking L-type calcium channels, MEM 1003 may regulate the flow of calcium and reestablish normal levels of calcium, which may help treat and prevent the onset of Alzheimer's disease.

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