Cassava Sciences (NASDAQ:SAVA) stock is tumbling 16% in morning trading in the wake of an article on the company by The New York Times. Reporter Apoorva Mandavilli wrote Monday that nine experts shared skepticism around how Cassava has assessed its Alzheimer’s treatment, simufilam. Some of these scientists also shared their doubts about the reliability of the data Cassava has so far released.
Cassava has said that its drug works by repairing “a protein called filamin A that becomes warped in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease,” The New York Times noted. By repairing this protein, the company says simufilam helps improve cognition in recipients.
What Is Happening With SAVA Stock?
However, experts that the newspaper spoke with said there are no outside studies which indicate that simufilam could positively impact Alzheimer’s patients by bolstering filamin A in their brains. Moreover, Dr. Thomas Südhof, a Stanford-based neuroscientist, called Cassava’s ideas “implausible and contrived.”
The newspaper added that, late last month, PLoS One, a scientific publication, announced that it had “retracted five papers” written by Cassava’s chief collaborator, Hoau-Yan Wang. The publication said that it had “serious concerns about the integrity and reliability of the results” detailed in the papers. Two of the reports focused on filamin A.
Cassava’s drug is currently undergoing two Phase 3 trials. In a Nov. 9, 2021 column, I noted that Quintessential Capital, which was shorting SAVA stock, had accused Cassava of “data manipulation.” In the column, I called Quintessential’s charges “very disturbing.”
In the three months that ended yesterday, Cassava’s shares had tumbled 45%.
On the date of publication, Larry Ramer did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
