Cassava Stock Plunges as Alzheimer’s Drug Fails Late-Stage Study

Cassava Sciences (SAVA) shares are plunging in premarket trading and are losing most of their value after the biotech firm said its experimental Simufilam drug—aimed at treating Alzheimer’s disease (AD)—failed to show a “significant reduction in cognitive or functional decline” during the Phase 3 trial of the treatment.

The drug was aimed at treating patients with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer’s, which the Mayo Clinic describes as the most common cause of dementia.

“The results are disappointing for patients and their families who are living with this disease and physicians who have been looking for novel treatment options,” Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Rick Barry said in a statement.

CEO Barry Says Company Plans to Discontinue Another Late-Stage Study of the Drug

“We took careful measures to enroll patients with mild-to-moderate AD. Despite that, the loss of cognition in the placebo group was less pronounced than was previously reported in other placebo-controlled studies in AD,” he added.

Barry said that the failure of the late-stage trial for Simufilam means that the company would discontinue another late-stage study and open-label study of the drug. An open-label or nonblinded study is where both the health providers and the patients are aware of the drug or treatment being given, according to the National Cancer Institute.

The company in September agreed to a $40 million settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over charges that it manipulated clinical trial data related to its Alzheimer’s disease drug.

Cassava Sciences shares are tumbling 80% in premarket trading, bringing their year-to-date gain to around 18%.