Cassava Sciences (SAVA) stated that it did not interpret the results of the drugmaker’s Alzheimer’s disease therapy, which has lately been criticized for the testing process’s integrity.
Cassava Sciences, located in Austin, Texas, had its stock drop over 14% to $63.42. Quanterix, located in Billerica, Massachusetts, was up 7.5 percent to $49.42.
Jordan Thomas, a partner, and chair of Labaton Sucharow’s whistleblower representation group filed a Citizen’s Petition with the Food and Drug Administration earlier this week, requesting that clinical studies of simufilam be halted.
On numerous issues, the Citizen Petition, which was uploaded on a US government website, questioned the integrity of the drug’s laboratory testing.
“A long-standing pattern of obviously purposeful data tampering and deception in scientific publications and business disclosures,” Thomas, a former Securities and Exchange Commission enforcement lawyer who helped establish up the agency’s whistleblower program, said.
The petition was submitted “on behalf of our clients with expertise in neurology, drug research, biochemistry, and finance” who “also own short positions in Cassava stock,” according to the company. Cassava Sciences responded by calling the claims “false and misleading” and stating that it “stands by its science, its scientists, and its scientific colleagues.”
The firm’s “plasma p-tau data from Alzheimer’s patients was developed by Quanterix, an independent company, and presented at the recent Alzheimer’s Association International Conference,” according to Cassava Sciences’ statement.
Cassava has previously contracted Quanterix’s Accelerator laboratory to undertake sample testing based on blinded samples given by Cassava, according to a statement.
The statement added, “Quanterix or its staff did not interpret the test results or produce the data charts given by Cassava at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference (AAIC) in July 2021 or otherwise.”
Quanterix conducted sample testing, according to Cassava Sciences, and then submitted the raw data to the firm for treatment impact analysis. After then, the data was presented at the conference. Quanterix had given Cassava Sciences permission to include its lab workers in the author list, according to the company.
“Cassava Sciences is aware of claims made by a party that acknowledged yesterday to holding a short position in the firm’s stock,” the business stated on Friday.
