Seeking Fresh Start From Its Troubles, Cassava Changes Its Name To Filana
As FiercePharma explains, the company is attempting to rebrand itself in the wake of a Justice Department investigation, a class-action lawsuit, and a failed attempt at treating Alzheimer’s. Plus: The FDA says Novo failed to report suspected incidents of GLP-1 side effects, as required by law.
Cassava Sciences has rebranded as Filana Therapeutics, shedding the baggage associated with the old name as the biotech plants itself in a new therapeutic area. As Cassava, the biotech mounted a failed attempt to show that its simufilam could improve outcomes in Alzheimer’s disease. By the time the phase 3 data sank the Alzheimer’s program last spring, Cassava was facing a Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation and class-action litigation tied to alleged scientific misconduct and misleading statements. The company recently reached settlements in the DOJ case and class-action lawsuit. (Taylor, 3/10)
On weight loss drugs —
Novo Nordisk received a warning from the Food and Drug Administration for failing to report suspected incidents of side effects caused by its medicines, a step that is required by federal law. (Silverman, 3/10)
The obesity drug semaglutide (Wegovy) conferred a significantly higher risk of ischemic optic neuropathy (ION) than any other GLP-1 agonist, including semaglutide for diabetes (Ozempic), an analysis of FDA data showed. (Bankhead, 3/10)
Hims & Hers Health Inc. has hired Kathryn Beiser, who led communications at Eli Lilly & Co. for five years, as the telehealth company charts a new era selling brand-name obesity drugs. Beiser, a public relations veteran who’s held senior positions at a number of companies including Kaiser Permanente, resigned from Lilly last year. She officially joined Hims last month as chief communications officer and reports to Chief Executive Officer Andrew Dudum. (Muller, 3/10)
In other pharmaceutical news —
Medtronic has signed a definitive agreement to acquire neurovascular medtech company Scientia Vascular for $550 million. The deal is expected to close in the first half of Medtronic’s fiscal 2027, which starts in April. It is subject to regulatory approvals and closing conditions. (Dubinsky, 3/10)
Monday, the Australian biopharma broke ground on an expansion at its Kankakee, Illinois, facility, a move set to substantially bolster CSL’s production capacity for plasma-derived therapy. (Kansteiner, 3/10)
Four Illinois mothers would never have allowed their prematurely born babies to be fed a specialized formula made by Abbott Laboratories had they known about the risks, an attorney for the parents argued in court Monday, while a lawyer for the company countered that the formula is not dangerous and that additional warnings about it would not have prevented the infants from getting sick. (Schencker, 3/10)
AbbVie’s CEO Robert Michael is emerging from his sophomore year at the helm with $32.5 million in 2025 compensation, marking a hefty 75% spike from his first-year pay and solidifying the rising chief as one of the highest-paid executives in the biopharma industry. (Becker, 3/10)
