Pomerantz LLP Appointed Lead Counsel in Northwest Biotherapeutics, Inc. Securities Litigation
On December 14, 2015, Pomerantz LLP was appointed Lead Counsel in a class action lawsuit against Northwest Biotherapeutics, Inc. (“Northwest Bio” or the “Company”) and certain of its officers. The class action, filed in the United States District Court, District of Maryland, Greenbelt Division, and docketed under 8:15-cv-02532, is on behalf of a class consisting of all persons or entities who purchased Northwest Bio securities between March 8, 2013 and August 20, 2015 inclusive (the “Class Period”). This class action seeks to recover damages against Northwest Bio for alleged violations of the federal securities laws under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
Northwest Bio, a development stage biotechnology company, discovers and develops immunotherapy products to treat cancers in the United States and internationally.
The Company is involved in the development of DCVax, a platform technology that uses activated dendritic cells to mobilize a patient’s own immune system to attack cancer. The Company’s products include DCVax-L, a brain and ovarian cancer treatment currently undergoing a Phase III trial in Germany (the “DCVax-L Trial”); DCVax-Direct, a treatment for various types of inoperable solid tumor cancers currently undergoing Phase I/II clinical trial (the “DCVax-Direct Trial”); and DCVax-Prostate, a treatment for late-stage hormone-independent prostate cancer.
The complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period, Northwest Bio made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) the Company’s claims regarding positive results from its DCVax-Direct Trial were based on preliminary and unconfirmed trial results; (ii) the DCVax-Direct Trial results on which the Company reported had not been reviewed or analyzed by the hospitals conducting the trials; (iii) the Company’s statements about DCVax-Direct were derived from patient case report forms, which the hospitals were obliged to send to the Company only because it sponsored the study; (iv) the Company was the subject of an aggressive stock promotion campaign which included promoters using fictitious identities and false credentials; (v) German regulators required additional information from the Company in order for the Company’s DCVax-L Trial to continue uninterrupted; and (vi) as a result of the above, the Company’s financial statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.
On June 19, 2014, The Street.com reported that MD Anderson had issued a stern rebuke to Northwest Bio for making promotional, unjustified claims about results from the ongoing clinical trial of DCVax-Direct.
On this news, Northwest Bio securities declined $1.79 per share, or almost 20%, on unusually heavy trading volume, to close at $7.18 per share on June 19, 2014.
On July 7, 2014, a report published on SeekingAlpha.com stated that “Northwest Bio has been the subject of a massive promotional campaign which has seen the [Company’s] stock price soar” and that “in some cases, authors have used fictitious identities and fake credentials within healthcare or finance. In fact, they are simply paid writers.”
On this news, Northwest Bio securities declined $0.43 per share, or more than 6%, to close at $6.71 on July 7, 2014.
On August 21, 2015, pre-market, news broke that the Company’s Phase 3 DCVax-L brain cancer treatment clinical trial in Germany was temporarily suspended. Later on the same day, the Company stated that new screening of patient candidates for the trial had been temporarily suspended while the Company submitted certain information from the trial for regulatory review.
On this news, Northwest Biotherapeutics securities fell $1.92, or 2.16%, to close at $6.96 on August 21, 2015.