One of the world’s best drug hunters went after Alzheimer’s. Here’s how he lost

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — The fate of the most promising Alzheimer’s drug in decades was sealed with a text message.

It was sent to Al Sandrock, one of the most celebrated drug developers of his generation. He and his employer, Biogen, the pioneering biotech firm, had spent a dozen years and hundreds of millions of dollars developing the drug. It was the talk of neuroscience; it had been featured on the cover of Fortune — a sign of hope for the entire field.

The text message said his team needed to see him urgently. He didn’t know why. He didn’t know that Biogen’s head of research was getting the same message, and would be calling into the meeting on a secure line from an international trip.

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