NEW YORK, March 25, 2020 /PRNewswire/ --
Summary
- After an extensive proprietary investigation, Bernstein
Litowitz Berger & Grossmann LLP files first securities class
action against developmental-stage drug company, AnaptysBio, Inc.
(NASDAQ: ANAB).
- The complaint alleges that AnaptysBio misrepresented to
investors that lead drug candidate, etokimab, was an effective
treatment for various inflammatory diseases.
- Investors incurred substantial losses after the company
eventually revealed that a Phase 2b
trial for etokimab failed to meet its primary endpoint, and when
analysts accused AnaptysBio of providing misleading clinical trial
data.
- Class Period: October 10, 2017 –
November 7, 2019.
- Lead Plaintiff Deadline: May 26,
2020.
Today, prominent investor rights law firm Bernstein Litowitz
Berger & Grossmann LLP ("BLB&G") filed a class action
lawsuit for violations of the federal securities laws against
AnaptysBio, Inc. ("AnaptysBio" or the "Company") and certain
of the Company's current and former senior executives
(collectively, "Defendants"), on behalf of investors in AnaptysBio
common stock between October 10, 2017
and November 7, 2019, inclusive (the
"Class Period"). The case was filed in the U.S. District
Court for the Southern District of California.
BLB&G filed this action on behalf of its client, City of
Hallandale Beach Police Officers' and Firefighters' Personnel
Retirement Trust, and the case is captioned City of Hallandale
Beach Police Officers' and Firefighters' Personnel Retirement Trust
v. AnaptysBio, Inc., No. 3:20-cv-00565 (S.D. Cal.). The
complaint is based on an extensive proprietary investigation, and
is available on BLB&G's website by clicking
here.
AnaptysBio's Alleged Fraud
Based in San Diego, California,
AnaptysBio is a clinical stage biotechnology company focused on the
discovery and development of drugs for the treatment of
inflammation and immuno-oncology conditions with unmet medical
needs. During the Class Period, the Company's lead drug asset
was etokimab (formerly ANB020), a drug intended for the treatment
of various inflammatory diseases. The claims alleged in this
case arise from Defendants' misrepresentations and omissions
regarding the efficacy of etokimab for the treatment of atopic
dermatitis, a chronic inflammatory skin disease otherwise known as
eczema, as well as peanut allergies.
The complaint alleges that, throughout the Class Period,
Defendants made false and misleading statements regarding the
purported efficacy of etokimab, touting data from the Company's
Phase 2a trial in peanut allergies as showing a "remarkable
efficacy result" and describing the drug as having a "pretty
profound efficacy" in its treatment of patients with atopic
dermatitis based on AnaptysBio's Phase 2a trial data for that
indication. In truth, Defendants provided misleading clinical
trial data which failed to disclose key information and used
questionable analysis, making the trial results regarding
etokimab's efficacy and its prospects appear far better than they
were. As a result of Defendants' misrepresentations, shares
of AnaptysBio common stock traded at artificially inflated prices
throughout the Class Period.
The truth emerged through a series of disclosures, beginning on
March 26, 2018, when an analyst from
RBC Capital Markets issued a report that questioned the veracity of
data from AnaptysBio's interim analysis of its Phase 2a clinical
trial for etokimab in adult patients with peanut allergies that the
Company had reported earlier that day. In particular, the RBC
report revealed that the response rate for etokimab in the full
trial population "does not appear to be meaningfully
differentiated" relative to a placebo. Less than five months
later, in August 2018, the Company
abandoned its clinical pursuit of etokimab as a treatment for
peanut allergies.
On June 21, 2019, an analyst from
Credit Suisse issued a report questioning the reliability of the
Company's Phase 2a atopic dermatitis trial data. Specifically,
the Credit Suisse report questioned patients' use of topical
corticosteroids to supplement treatment of their symptoms as a
rescue therapy during the study and criticized the Company's
failure to provide details on the timing of rescue therapy use or
whether the subjects that utilized rescue therapy were classified
as responders. As a result of the Company's misleading atopic
dermatitis trial data, Credit Suisse was "now less certain about
etokimab's efficacy profile, particularly in atopic
dermatitis."
Then, on November 8, 2019, the
Company announced "very disappoint[ing]" data from its ATLAS trial,
a Phase 2b multi-dose study which
evaluated the efficacy of etokimab in approximately 300 patients
with moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis. Specifically,
AnaptysBio disclosed that each of the etokimab dosing arms "failed
to meet the primary endpoint of the trial" by not demonstrating
statistically greater efficacy relative to a placebo. As a result
of these disclosures, the price of AnaptysBio common stock declined
precipitously.
If you wish to serve as Lead Plaintiff for the Class, you must
file a motion with the Court no later than May 26, 2020, which is the first business
day on which the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of
California is open that is 60 days
after the publication date of March
25, 2020. Any member of the proposed Class may move the
Court to serve as Lead Plaintiff through counsel of their choice,
or may choose to do nothing and remain a member of the proposed
Class.
If you wish to discuss this action or have any questions
concerning this notice or your rights or interests, please contact
Michael D. Blatchley of BLB&G at
212-554-1281, or via e-mail at michaelb@blbglaw.com.
About BLB&G
BLB&G is widely recognized worldwide as a leading law firm
advising institutional investors on issues related to corporate
governance, shareholder rights, and securities litigation. Since
its founding in 1983, BLB&G has built an international
reputation for excellence and integrity and pioneered the use of
the litigation process to achieve precedent-setting governance
reforms. Unique among its peers, BLB&G has obtained several of
the largest and most significant securities recoveries in history,
recovering over $33 billion on behalf
of defrauded investors. More information about the firm can be
found online at www.blbglaw.com.
Contact
Michael D. Blatchley
Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann LLP
1251 Avenue of the Americas, 44th Floor
New York, New York 10020
(212) 554-1281
michaelb@blbglaw.com
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SOURCE Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann LLP