Grand Jury Indicts Medical Professor for Alleged Fraud of $16 Million NIH Grants in Biotechnology Company Scandal

In June 2024, Cassava Sciences, Inc., a Texas-based biotechnology company, announced that a federal grand jury had indicted Hoau-Yan Wang for allegedly defrauding the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH). The charges against Wang, a tenured medical professor at a public university’s medical school and former science advisor to Cassava Sciences, accused him of engaging in illegal behavior to secure approximately $16 million in grants from the NIH between 2017 and 2021 for himself and the company. These grants were intended for research related to the early development phases of the company’s drug candidate and diagnostic test.

Wang’s alleged fraudulent activities did not involve his work on the company’s Phase 3 clinical trials of simufilam, which is Cassava Sciences’ leading drug candidate for Alzheimer’s disease treatment. Despite this, Wang’s actions have raised questions about the integrity of scientific research and funding.

For more information about this case or to contact Cassava Sciences regarding any queries or concerns, individuals can contact Eric Schoen, Chief Financial Officer of Cassava Sciences at (512) 501-2450 or via email at ESchoen@CassavaSciences.com.