Cassava Fraud Case Dismissed, Closing a Chapter in Alzheimer’s Drug Saga

Simufilam’s long, rocky run as a would-be Alzheimer’s treatment is now all but over. In late 2024, drugmaker Cassava Sciences shared that the experimental therapy failed in its Phase 3 clinical trial. In early 2025, the company announced they would halt development of Alzheimer’s therapies. This month, a federal court dismissed a pending fraud case against neuroscientist Hoau-Yan Wang, a key developer of simufilam.

Cassava has been dogged for years by fraud and data-integrity allegations raised by scientists and investors, triggering reviews by federal agencies, and leading to the retractions of multiple research papers tied to simufilam.

The company has repeatedly contested allegations of wrongdoing, publishing detailed rebuttals and defending the validity of its research.

Investigations reached into the academic labs where early simufilam studies originated.

Wang was indicted two years ago on allegations that he defrauded the government of $16 million in research grants related to the drug’s development and testing. The Department of Justice dropped the charges with prejudice, which means the charges cannot be refiled in the future.

Legal fallout touched corporate leadership. Cassava’s founder and CEO Remi Barbier stepped down along with other senior leaders in summer 2024.  Meanwhile, a former Cassava advisor was indicted for securities fraud tied to simufilam clinical results, and additional employees became subjects of federal investigations.

Latest development: criminal case against Hoau-Yan Wang dismissed

On October 17 2025, a federal court dismissed the DOJ’s fraud case agains Hoau-Yan Wang.

Wang was indicted two years ago on allegations that he defrauded the U.S. government of $16 million in research grants related to the drug’s development and testing.

The decision followed a letter sent by the City University of New York in May summarizing its findings from a years-long internal misconduct investigation. The university reported that Wang had improperly manipulated images in a number of scientific studies but said the behavior fell short of its threshold for a finding of scientific misconduct.

A leaked, unofficial report earlier described alleged “egregious misconduct” and called related data “highly questionable.”

Last year, Wang resolved civil charges brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission, agreeing to pay a $50,000 penalty without admitting or denying the allegations.

Federal prosecutors have not commented publicly on why the case was dismissed.