Neurotrope Denies Involvement In Paying For Promotional Articles

On Wednesday, TheStreet biotech reporter Adam Feuerstein raised alarm that an unknown source paid to convert Seeking Alpha posts about Neurotrope Inc NTRP into unofficial promotional pieces for bryostatin, the company's lead drug candidate.

Neurotrope denied any involvement.

"The company does not agree with anything written in the article," Jeff Benison, director of communications, told Benzinga. He asserted that Neurotrope has had no contact with the author, and he called out a number of errors within her original text, particularly a false explanation of p-values and their meanings.

See Also: Neurotrope's Phase 2 Drug To Treat Alzheimer's Doesn't Clear Threshold For Statistical Significance

Feuerstein spoke with the author, Sharon di Stefano, to confirm that she is unaffiliated with the company, but questions remain as to who exactly orchestrated the push.

The Neurotrope posting that caught Feuerstein’s attention was pulled from Seeking Alpha’s site following the Wednesday exchanges.

The confusion surrounding Neurotrope follows recent U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission activity addressing a stock-promotion scheme originating on Seeking Alpha. The violations and subsequent legal action put Wall Street on edge and called to question the veracity and sourcing of online user posts.

Neurotrope shares closed up 12 percent at $9.20, and was trading down nearly 4 percent shortly in the after-hours session.