Cassava Sciences (NASDAQ: SAVA) stock is up 25%. SAVA stock suffers, over time, from one great problem. The company claims to have something that at least treats, if not cures, Alzheimer’s. This is one of the grand drug targets, something that would have a massive market if it were true. The problem is that some people believe the claims of the company, that it works, others do not and insist that it doesn’t. This has been true since 2020 about Cassava Sciences. “Cassava Sciences has had a bit of a rollercoaster this year. Their phase 2 tests failed. Then they looked again and maybe something interesting.” Phase II is looking at effectiveness on the target treatment. At first it failed, then a closer look indicated well, maybe something. So it’s long been an issue. Is there really something here or not?
This isn’t helped by the revelations of a year back and which also got rehashed in the past few weeks: “A neuroscientist whose studies undergird an experimental Alzheimer’s drug was “reckless” in his failure to keep or provide original data, an offense that “amounts to significant research misconduct,” an investigation by his university has concluded. The drug, simufilam, is made by Cassava Sciences, a pharmaceutical company based in Texas, and is in advanced clinical trials.” Cassava is, in turn, claiming dastardly short selling and leaks of that report and so on. This is the second time the same issue has arisen, once back a while at the time of the original allegations, now on the publication of the report.
Cassava Sciences stock price from Google Finance
It’s not good: “Cassava Sciences Adviser Found to Have Committed ‘Egregious Misconduct’
Scientist, who is a City University of New York professor, didn’t provide school investigators with data or records supporting his research.”
On the other hand, we’re also getting further reports about the drug: “Cassava Sciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: SAVA), a clinical-stage biotechnology company, today announced a potentially significant safety finding based on interim magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) brain data from Alzheimer’s patients who are enrolled in a Phase 3 clinical trial of simufilam. The MRI data suggest simufilam is not associated with treatment-emergent amyloid-related imaging abnormalities, or ARIA. MRIs were all analyzed for ARIA by board-certified neuroradiologists. ARIA is a medical term used to describe a spectrum of brain MRI imaging abnormalities, such as edema and brain bleeds. ARIA is also a known risk factor for Alzheimer’s patients taking the class of drugs known as monoclonal antibodies directed against beta amyloid. In contrast to such class of drugs, simufilam is Cassava Sciences’ small-molecule (oral) drug candidate.
That’s good, as the Phase III trials are showing lower side effects. But that still doesn;t, not really, answer that Phase II question - does it really work?
And thus the volatility in Cassava Sciences stock. With any pharma development company the value is in whether it really works. But here we’re still arguing about that even when we’ve gone onto the next stage of testing. If it gets licensed then the market is vast - but will it get licensed?
