Troubled Alzheimer's researcher accused of fraud
Hoau-Yan Wang, a professor at City College, has published studies supporting simufilam, currently in advanced clinical trials.
A scientist whose research was at the center of a controversy over an Alzheimer's drug candidate has been accused of fraud.
A federal grand jury indicted Hoau-Yan Wang, a professor at the City College of New York, on Thursday on charges of falsifying data to obtain grants totaling about $16 million from the National Institutes of Health.
Dr. Wang's studies have supported research into a diagnostic test for Alzheimer's disease and simufilam, a drug in late-stage clinical trials. Simufilam's maker, Cassava Sciences, a Texas-based pharmaceutical company, said the drug improves cognition in patients with Alzheimer's disease.
The disease Alzheimer's disease affects approximately six million Americans, a figure that is expected to double by 2050 – and there is enormous enthusiasm for promising treatments. Cassava stocks soared after each round of reported results from its trials.
But some scientists had publicly disparaged the drug, saying its mechanism of action and its alleged results were implausible. Some went further and accused the company and Dr. Wang, its scientific consultant, of manipulating the results. Several journals have retracted or attached statements of concern regarding the publications of Dr. Wang and a co-author of Cassava.
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Hoau-Yan Wang, a professor at City College, has published studies supporting simufilam, currently in advanced clinical trials.
A scientist whose research was at the center of a controversy over an Alzheimer's drug candidate has been accused of fraud.
A federal grand jury indicted Hoau-Yan Wang, a professor at the City College of New York, on Thursday on charges of falsifying data to obtain grants totaling about $16 million from the National Institutes of Health.
Dr. Wang's studies have supported research into a diagnostic test for Alzheimer's disease and simufilam, a drug in late-stage clinical trials. Simufilam's maker, Cassava Sciences, a Texas-based pharmaceutical company, said the drug improves cognition in patients with Alzheimer's disease.
The disease Alzheimer's disease affects approximately six million Americans, a figure that is expected to double by 2050 – and there is enormous enthusiasm for promising treatments. Cassava stocks soared after each round of reported results from its trials.
But some scientists had publicly disparaged the drug, saying its mechanism of action and its alleged results were implausible. Some went further and accused the company and Dr. Wang, its scientific consultant, of manipulating the results. Several journals have retracted or attached statements of concern regarding the publications of Dr. Wang and a co-author of Cassava.
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Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.
Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode, please exit and log in to your Times account, or subscribe to the entire Times.
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