Scientist developing potential Alzheimer’s drug indicted on research fraud charges

A neuroscientist who helped develop a potential treatment for Alzheimer’s disease was indicted by a federal grand jury on fraud charges Thursday.

The indictment announced by the Justice Department on Friday will bring further scrutiny into the work of Hoau-Yan Wang, who has had several studies retracted and was under investigation by his employer, the City University of New York, which has since ceased operations.

The charges in the indictment relate to alleged fabrication of research images and data that Wang may have used to obtain a federal grant from the National Institutes of Health.

Wang, a professor at the City University of New York School of Medicine, worked with Austin, Texas-based pharmaceutical company Cassava Sciences, Inc. to research a candidate drug for Alzheimer’s disease called simufilam. According to the indictment, Wang received approximately $16 million in grant funding from Cassava for early-stage drug development.

The indictment charges Wang with one count of fraud against the United States, two counts of wire fraud and one count of making false statements. The indictment accuses Wang of manipulating or altering images of Western blots, a laboratory method used by researchers to identify proteins, to bolster evidence and help with grant applications.

The indictment also suggests that Wang may have lied to scientific journals to substantiate his research that contributed to the early development of symphyllum.

The drug is currently in late-stage clinical trials, with approximately 735 patients enrolled as of May 2024, according to a Cassava news release last month.

Wang did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In 2023, he told The Wall Street Journal that the CUNY investigation “made no conclusive findings of data manipulation, which is consistent with what I’ve been saying for two years.”

Cassava said in a statement on Friday that Wang was not involved in the company’s latest trial.

“Wang’s research through these grants was related to the early development stages of our drug candidates and diagnostic tests and how we plan to function,” the company said in a news release.

Cassava added that Wang “was not involved in the company’s Phase 3 clinical trials of simufilam.”

The Cassava spokesperson also pointed to a news release the company issued in September 2023 saying academic researchers outside of CUNY had found evidence that the drug may affect a signaling pathway suspected to be involved in Alzheimer’s disease.

CUNY learned of the charges on Friday, a spokesperson said in an email, adding that “the university will continue to cooperate fully with the federal investigation until the matter is resolved.”

The indictment does not specifically name the universities, drugs, or companies, but instead refers to them as “University 1,” “Drug A,” and “Company 1,” respectively.

Still, Cassava shares plunged on Friday, triggering multiple trading halts and dropping nearly 35%.

Overall, the manipulation of research images and the handling of allegations of research misconduct are of growing concern in the scientific community.

The issue received particular attention last summer when Marc Tessier-Lavigne, then president of Stanford University, resigned amid allegations that images had been manipulated in his lab. Tessier-Lavigne said he never submitted a paper that he believed to be inaccurate, and noted that a committee that investigated his work did not find him aware of any misconduct in his lab.

And in January, amateur science sleuths accused top scientists at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute of manipulating study images, leading to the subsequent retraction of the study. Dana-Farber said it had taken decisive steps to correct the scientific record.

Wang’s research has been questioned for some time, as Science reported, after it obtained a report from CUNY that found evidence suggesting research misconduct. After Science published the report, the university dropped its investigation.

According to the website Retraction Watch, several academic papers written by Wang have been retracted.