Cassava Sciences may have potential blockbuster

 Cassava Sciences, a clinical-stage biotech company, has no revenue yet. But the company's stock is up more than 25% over the past year. The reason is the company has a potential blockbuster Alzheimer's drug -- simufilam.

Cassava just reported results from its phase 2B study on the drug, showing 98% of patients with mild or moderate Alzheimer's in the study treated with simufilam for 28 days showed improvements in biomarkers of the disease's pathology, including improved memory, less neuroinflammation and less neurodegeneration with no safety issues. The company said it expects to complete a phase 3 study regarding the safety of the disease this year.

It's hard to stress enough what a big deal a successful Alzheimer's drug would be. According to the Alzheimer's Association, the disease, the most common form of dementia, affects more than five million Americans 65 and older. With the population of those 65 and over in the United States expected to grow from 56 million in 2020 to 88 million by 2050, the number with Alzheimer's would obviously grow. The association said by 2050, there will be 13.8 million people internationally living with Alzheimer's.

There is no drug on the market that has been shown to reverse or even slow the disease's progression, and no new drugs for Alzheimer's have been approved since 2003. It's possible a successful Alzheimer's treatment would be worth $20 billion a year by 2030 with no competitors, according to J.P. Morgan analysts.

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