In a GuruFocus article published on Aug. 25, I pointed out that until now, the over 200 testing programs conducted by pharmaceutical companies searching for an effective Alzheimer's drug have flopped.

The majority of these schemes have focused on addressing the physical changes in patients' brains. While many firms are still pursuing the physical (amyloid/tau) theory, numerous others are taking different routes to solve the Alzheimer's puzzle.

Neuroprotection agents

According to an article in Medical News Today, neuroprotectors cannot reverse existing damage, but may protect against it and slow any degeneration of the central nervous system. Therefore, the drugs

According to GuruFocus insider data, recent chief financial officer buys were Vaalco Energy Inc. (EGY), Dasan Zhone Solutions Inc. (DZSI) and Cassava Sciences Inc. (SAVA).

Vaalco Energy CFO bought 8,600 shares

CFO Elizabeth D. Prochnow bought 8,600 shares for $1.7 per share on May 14. Since then, the stock has declined 4.12%.

Vaalco Energy has a market cap of $97.460 million and its shares were traded around $1.63. The company has a price-earnings ratio of 1.05 and a price-sales ratio of 0.88.

The company announced its first-quarter results recently, posting revenue of $19.77 million and gross profit of $13.14 million,

Gevo, Inc. (GEVO) shares are up more than 21% in pre-market trading to $5.68 after the renewable chemicals and advanced biofuels company reported 1Q15 results. Gevo posted quarterly revenue of $5.9 million, a significant increase from $0.9 million in the same quarter of last year. The report also highlighted a recent renewable jet fuel agreement with Alaska Airlines.

Williams Partners LP (WPZ) is up nearly 15% to $54.40 per share following an announcement that all public equity of the natural gas company will be bought by Williams Companies Inc. Before the buyout, Williams owned 60% of WPZ. Furthermore, WPZ will

First Eagle Investment Management on Aug. 31 reported adding to positions in two holdings: CUI Global Inc. (CUI) and Pain Therapeutics Inc. (PTIE).

The First Eagle Funds focus on long-term absolute return while protecting against market downturns. Each of the funds have gained year to date.

The larger increase was a 22.38% boost in the fund’s CUI Global holding, reflecting new shares 385,927, according to GuruFocus Real Time Picks. The transaction brings the total holding size to 12,110,485 shares, a 10.23% stake in the company. First Eagle started the position in the first quarter:

Here are some of the latest Real-Time Picks from the gurus:

Chase Coleman added a new holding of 3,600,000 shares of Tuniu Corp (TOUR) at the average price of $10.07 on 05/09/2014, as reported in the latest 13G filings by Chase Coleman (Trades, Portfolio). Tuniu operates as an online leisure travel company in China and had its IPO on May 5, 2014. Coleman is the only guru holding the stock.

Market Cap: 93.16 million, P/E: N/A

Business Predictability: Not Rated, Financial Strength: Not Rated, Profitability & Growth: Not Rated