Cassava Sciences Doubles on Progress With Alzheimer’s Treatment

Shares of Cassava Sciences more than doubled on Tuesday after the drugmaker reported progress in a study of its Alzheimer’s treatment candidate.

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Cassava Sciences Doubles on Progress With Alzheimer’s Treatment

The Austin company reported results from a study of simufilam, which was associated with improved patient cognition and behavior scores after six months of treatment.

“We would have been satisfied to show simufilam stabilizes cognition in patients over six months, President and Chief Executive Remi Barbier said in a statement.

“An improvement in cognition and behavior tells us this drug candidate has potential to provide lasting treatment effects for people living with Alzheimer’s disease.”

Cassava shares at last check were trading at $49.67. They’d closed Monday trading at $22.99. Last May the stock touched a 52-week low at $1.63.

The company reported no serious drug-related adverse events during the six-month treatment regimen.

The clinical study was funded by the National Institutes of Health.

The study is part of a continuing one-year study to evaluate the long-term safety and tolerability of a twice-daily 100mg dose of simufilam in 100 patients with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer’s disease. The company started the trial in March 2020.

Alzheimer’s is a progressive disease, and over time a patient’s cognition will always worsen, the company noted. But simufilam is showing signs of slowing the rate of decline due to the disease.

“Today’s data once again suggests simufilam could be a transformative, novel therapeutic,” said Chief Medical Officer Nadav Friedmann.

“It appears the drug’s unique mechanism of action has potential to provide a treatment benefit following six months of dosing.”

This article was originally published by TheStreet.