Glancy Prongay & Murray LLP (“GPM”), a leading national shareholder rights law firm, announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed on behalf of investors who purchased AstraZeneca PLC (“AstraZeneca” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: AZN) American Depositary Shares (“ADSs” or “shares”) between May 21, 2020 and November 20, 2020 (the “Class Period”). AstraZeneca investors have until March 29, 2021 to file a lead plaintiff motion.
If you suffered a loss on your AstraZeneca investments or would like to inquire about potentially pursuing claims to recover your loss under the federal securities laws, you can submit your contact information at https://www.glancylaw.com/cases/astrazeneca/. You can also contact Charles H. Linehan, of GPM at 310-201-9150, Toll-Free at 888-773-9224, or via email at shareholders@glancylaw.com to learn more about your rights.
On November 23, 2020, AstraZeneca announced the results of an interim analysis of its ongoing clinical trials for AZD1222. Though the Company claimed that the drug candidate was highly effective in preventing COVID-19, the primary endpoint of the trials, AstraZeneca disclosed that the interim analysis involved two smaller scale trials in different locales that used two different dosing regimens. One clinical trial provided patients a half dose of AZD1222 followed by a full dose, while the other trial provided two full doses. AstraZeneca contradictorily claimed that the half dosing regimen was substantially more effective at preventing COVID-19 at 90% efficacy than the full dosing regimen, which had achieved just 62% efficacy. The Company noted the combined “average efficacy of 70%” among two trials.
The unexplained discrepancies, omissions and the need for multiple trials in separate locales raised red flags for investors and distinguished AstraZeneca’s trial procedures from those of other biopharmaceutical companies, such as Pfizer and Moderna.
On this news, the price of AstraZeneca’s American Depositary Shares (“ADSs”) fell $2.10, or 5%, over three consecutive trading sessions to close at $52.60 per ADS on November 25, 2020.
The complaint filed alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and/or misleading statements, as well as failed to disclose material adverse facts about the Company’s business, operations, and prospects. Specifically, Defendants failed to disclose to investors that: (1) initial clinical trials for AZD1222 had suffered from a critical manufacturing error, resulting in a substantial number of trial participants receiving half the designed dosage; (2) clinical trials for AZD1222 consisted of a patchwork of disparate patient subgroups, each with subtly different treatments, undermining the validity and import of the conclusions that could be drawn from the clinical data across these disparate patient populations; (3) certain clinical trial participants for AZD1222 had not received a second dose at the designated time points, but rather received the second dose up to several weeks after the dose had been scheduled to be delivered according to the original trial design; (4) AstraZeneca had failed to include a substantial number of patients over 55 years of age in its clinical trials for AZD1222, despite this patient population being particularly vulnerable to the effects of COVID-19 and thus a high priority target market for the drug; (5) AstraZeneca’s clinical trials for AZD1222 had been hamstrung by widespread flaws in design, errors in execution, and a failure to properly coordinate and communicate with regulatory authorities and the general public; (6) as a result of the foregoing, the clinical trials for AZD1222 had not been conducted in accordance with industry best practices and acceptable standards and the data and conclusions that could be derived from the clinical trials was of limited utility; and (7) as a result of the foregoing, AZD1222 was unlikely to be approved for commercial use in the United States in the short term, one of the largest potential markets for the drug.
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If you purchased AstraZeneca shares during the Class Period, you may move the Court no later than March 29, 2021 to ask the Court to appoint you as lead plaintiff. To be a member of the Class you need not take any action at this time; you may retain counsel of your choice or take no action and remain an absent member of the Class. If you wish to learn more about this action, or if you have any questions concerning this announcement or your rights or interests with respect to these matters, please contact Charles Linehan, Esquire, of GPM, 1925 Century Park East, Suite 2100, Los Angeles California 90067 at 310-201-9150, Toll-Free at 888-773-9224, by email to shareholders@glancylaw.com, or visit our website at www.glancylaw.com. If you inquire by email please include your mailing address, telephone number and number of shares purchased.
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View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210129005599/en/
Contacts:
Charles H. Linehan, 310-201-9150 or 888-773-9224
1925 Century Park East, Suite 2100
Los Angeles, CA 90067
www.glancylaw.com
shareholders@glancylaw.com
