Annovis Bio (NASDAQ: ANVS) stock tanked on Thursday after its touted Alzheimer’s disease drug flopped and failed to show a significant difference in a mid-stage trial relative to placebo. The stock lost 60.3% of its value to close at $43.5, with the losses extended to after-hours trading.
Pospiphen didn’t outperform placebo
The company’s medication Posiphen showed “positive tendencies” on various cognitive measurements, but the findings didn’t show statistical significance. Nevertheless, Posiphen has been shown to be beneficial in both people living with Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s, according to Annovis, and they are bullish on potential of the drug.
According to Annovis, they are looking for bad-actor proteins that affect axonal transport. Nerve cells communicate with each other via axonal transport. Therefore, according to the company improving axonal transport could benefit Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s patients cognitively.
Several metrics are used to assess a drug’s efficacy in Alzheimer’s disease. The Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment Scale-Cognitive Subscale, or ADAS-Cog, revealed “trends of improvement” in the Posiphen-treated group. Equally, the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), and the Clinical Dementia Rating Scale Sum of Boxes (CDR-SB), both showed “positive trends.” However, in the case of Alzheimer’s disease, the findings were not statistically significant, resulting in the stock plunging. In addition, although Posiphen-treated AD patients outperformed placebo recipients on the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, it seems that the scale is not extensively utilized among Alzheimer’s patients.
Innovis surged following Aduhelm approval
Since Biogen’s (NASDAQ: BIIB) Aduhelm received FDA approval, Annovis stock has soared. Aduhelm is the first Alzheimer’s drug to target an underlying cause of the disease rather than just treating the symptoms. However, experts disagree on whether Aduhelm has any cognitive benefits.
ANVS’ stock has dropped to its lowest level since early June as a result of the announcement. According to IBD Digital, shares had a top-notch Relative Strength Rating of 99 before Thursday. In terms of twelve-month performance, the stock has outpaced 99% of equities.
