Cassava Sciences Settles with SEC for $40M Over Falsified Alzheimer's Drug Data; Barbier and Burns Named

Sep 26, 2024, 09:57 PM

Cassava Sciences, Inc. ($SAVA) and its executives have settled with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for $40 million over allegations of falsifying phase 2 trial data for their Alzheimer's drug, simufilam. The SEC charges revealed that the placebo outperformed both doses of the drug, and the original data showed no measurable cognitive improvement in patients' episodic memory. CEO Rick Barry admitted discrepancies between Quanterix data and Wang's CUNY data. The company faces significant legal challenges and investor skepticism, with its current cash position at approximately $200 million and a burn rate of $80 million per year. Remi Barbier and Lindsay Burns were also named in the SEC charges.