Ambitious biotech Cassava Sciences (SAVA 2.81%) had a fine Friday on the stock market, with its shares closing more than 17% higher. That stock-price pop trounced the performance of the S&P 500 index, which only bumped 0.4% higher.
Investors were cheered by a crucial set of appointments announced by the company after market hours Thursday.
Cassava named three new board members
Cassava, which concentrates its efforts on treatments for Alzheimer's disease, said that it had appointed three new members to its board of directors. Of the trio, two are seasoned veterans in the healthcare industry, and the third has notable experience in cybersecurity and emergency-response management.
The two healthcare executives who now occupy seats on Cassava's board are Claude Nicaise and Pierre Gravier.
According to the company, Nicaise has been a part of 14 new drug approvals, in management roles covering both clinical and regulatory duties. From 2008 to 2014 he served as senior vice president of strategic development and global regulatory affairs at Alexion Pharmaceuticals, which has since been acquired by AstraZeneca.
The other healthcare industry executive joining him, Gravier, is the CFO of peer biotech PTC Therapeutics. He also has experience in the finance industry, as he was formerly managing director of the healthcare group within the financial advisory firm Perella Weinberg Partners.
Finally, the executive in cybersecurity and other security is Robert Anderson, Jr., who most notably did a stint at the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). There, he was executive assistant director of the Criminal, Cyber, Response, and Services Branch (CCRSB). Anderson also serves on the board of consultancy Cyber Defense Labs, where he is chairman and CEO.
All three appointments were effective immediately.
Concerns about data manipulation
For several years now the company has been dogged by allegations that it manipulated data related to its leading drug candidate simufilam. The presence of Anderson might help assuage shareholder concerns about Cassava's practices. Investors like it when the people theoretically representing them on a company's board have practical and applicable experience in relevant fields.
