Cassava Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: SAVA) has received communication from the Journal of Neurosciences that the research article published in July 2021 proposing a new Alzheimer’s disease treatment technique didn’t have any evidence of data tampering. The company’s scientists and academic partners co-authored the article, which lays the groundwork for simufilam, Cassava Sciences’ flagship drug candidate for AD treatment.
Two short-sellers had filed a Citizen Petition regarding Western blots data
“I’ve never doubted the integrity of our people or science. We remain focused on conducting a Phase 3 clinical program of simufilam in people with Alzheimer’s disease. It’s an important endeavor, notwithstanding pundits who may be louder than they are learned. We’ll stay the course until our job is done,” stated Remi Barbier, CEO, and President of Cassava Sciences.
A law firm2 representing unknown short-sellers filed a Citizen Petition with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in August 2021, alleging data manipulation in Western blots in a research article published in July 2012 by the Journal of Neuroscience. Western blotting is a sophisticated lab technique for separating and quantifying proteins. The Journal sought raw data for the publication, including photographs of original, uncropped Western blots, in response to this and other online claims.
Only a single human error was identified after reviewing of raw data
After receiving the data and finalizing a review, the Journal of Neuroscience indicated, “No evidence of data manipulation was found for Western blot data.” However, a single human error insignificantly impacted data inferences, and the Journal will print a correction.
A statement from the Journal of Neuroscience shared by the company read, “The Journal of Neuroscience follows COPE [Committee on Publication Ethics] guidelines and takes any claims of misconduct very seriously. In response to allegations of data manipulation in JNeurosci 2012;32:9773-9784 the Journal requested raw data, including images of original, uncropped Western blots. The Journal determined that there was one duplicated panel in Figure 8 and a Corrigendum was requested and will be printed. No evidence of data manipulation was found for Western blot data.”
