A closer look at ProMis Neurosciences and its Alzheimer's drug

Adam Feuerstein is a senior writer and biotech columnist, reporting on the crossroads of drug development, business, Wall Street, and biotechnology. He is also a co-host of the weekly biotech podcast The Readout Loud and author of the newsletter Adam’s Biotech Scorecard. You can reach Adam on Signal at stataf.54.

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Shares of ProMis Neurosciences, developer of an amyloid-targeting treatment for Alzheimer’s disease, sold off sharply last week in reaction to an announcement from Acumen Pharmaceuticals that its own Alzheimer’s drug, with a similar mechanism, failed to slow the cognitive or functional decline of patients with Alzheimer’s disease compared to a placebo in a mid-stage study.

“This was a complete overreaction in my opinion and not justified,” ProMis CEO Neil Warma told me, when I asked if investors were correct to assume the failure of Acumen’s drug presaged a similar fate for ProMis’ drug.

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