APLS INVESTOR ALERT: Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Investors with Substantial Losses Have Opportunity to Lead Class Action Lawsuit

SAN DIEGO, Aug. 25, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The law firm of Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP announces that the Apellis class action lawsuit, captioned Soderberg v. Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc., No. 23-cv-00834 (D. Del.), charges Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: APLS) as well as certain of its top current and former executive officers with violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

If you suffered substantial losses and wish to serve as lead plaintiff of the Apellis class action lawsuit, please provide your information here:

https://www.rgrdlaw.com/cases-apellis-pharmaceuticals-inc-class-action-lawsuit-apls.html

You can also contact attorney J.C. Sanchez of Robbins Geller by calling 800/449-4900 or via e-mail at [email protected].  Lead plaintiff motions for the Apellis class action lawsuit must be filed with the court no later than October 2, 2023.

CASE ALLEGATIONS: One of Apellis' leading therapeutic treatments, "SYFOVRE," is an intravitreal pegcetacoplan injection that is the first and only approved therapy for geographic atrophy, a leading cause of blindness.  On January 28, 2021, Apellis published an online presentation to shareholders titled "Pegcetacoplan: Advancing the First Potential Treatment for Geographic Atrophy (GA)," which highlighted its ongoing Phase 3 "DERBY and OAKS" clinical trials and its completed Phase 2 "FILLY" clinical trial.  In its presentation to shareholders, Apellis touted the efficacy of using pegcetacoplan in patients with GA, including that the Phase 2 FILLY trial showed decreased lesion growth and that safety was "in line with other studies of intravitreally administered agents."

The Apellis class action lawsuit alleges that defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) the design of SYFOVRE's clinical trials was insufficient to identify incidents of retinal vasculitis in patients receiving SYFOVRE injections; and (ii) as a result, the commercial adoption of SYFOVRE was subject to significant, unknown risk factors.

On July 15, 2023, the American Society of Retina Specialists ("ASRS") published a letter highlighting concerns with SYFOVRE.  Specifically, the ASRS indicated that physicians have reported cases of eye inflammation in patients treated with SYFOVRE, including six instances of occlusive retinal vasculitis, a type of inflammation that blocks blood flow through the vessels that feed the retina and potentially results in blindness.  On this news, the price of Apellis common stock declined nearly 38%.

Then, on July 17, 2023, Apellis issued a statement addressing the concerns raised by the ASRS regarding vasculitis and SYFOVRE, explaining that, of the six occurrences of vasculitis following SYFOVRE treatment, "two of the events were confirmed as occlusive, one was confirmed as non-occlusive, and the remaining three were undetermined based on limited information and lack of imaging."  Apellis further acknowledged that Apellis "is continuing to conduct a thorough investigation of each of the events, working closely with the [ASRS] and several external specialists."  On this news, the price of Apellis common stock declined nearly 24%.

Thereafter, on July 20, 2023, Wedbush downgraded Apellis' price target by more than 50%, from $86.00 per share to $40.00 per share.  On this news, the price of Apellis common stock declined approximately 15%.

Finally, on July 29, 2023, Apellis provided an update on Apellis' review of the six events of retinal vasculitis reported by the ASRS concerning SYFOVRE treatments.  In the update, Apellis confirmed a seventh event of retinal vasculitis resulting from SYFOVRE treatment as determined by Apellis' internal safety committee and external retina/uveitis specialists.  Apellis also stated that Apellis is evaluating an eighth reported event of retinal vasculitis, which Apellis had not yet confirmed.  On this news, the price of Apellis common stock declined an additional 19.6%, further damaging investors.

THE LEAD PLAINTIFF PROCESS: The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 permits any investor who purchased or acquired Apellis common stock during the class period to seek appointment as lead plaintiff of the Apellis class action lawsuit.  A lead plaintiff is generally the movant with the greatest financial interest in the relief sought by the putative class who is also typical and adequate of the putative class.  A lead plaintiff acts on behalf of all other class members in directing the Apellis class action lawsuit.  The lead plaintiff can select a law firm of its choice to litigate the Apellis class action lawsuit.  An investor's ability to share in any potential future recovery is not dependent upon serving as lead plaintiff of the Apellis class action lawsuit. 

ABOUT ROBBINS GELLER: Robbins Geller is one of the world's leading complex class action firms representing plaintiffs in securities fraud cases.  The Firm is ranked #1 on the most recent ISS Securities Class Action Services Top 50 Report for recovering more than $1.75 billion for investors in 2022 – the third year in a row Robbins Geller tops the list.  And in those three years alone, Robbins Geller recovered nearly $5.3 billion for investors, more than double the amount recovered by any other plaintiffs' firm.  With 200 lawyers in 9 offices, Robbins Geller is one of the largest plaintiffs' firms in the world and the Firm's attorneys have obtained many of the largest securities class action recoveries in history, including the largest securities class action recovery ever – $7.2 billion – in In re Enron Corp. Sec. Litig.  Please visit the following page for more information:

https://www.rgrdlaw.com/services-litigation-securities-fraud.html

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Contact:

            Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP 
            655 W. Broadway, Suite 1900, San Diego, CA  92101
            J.C. Sanchez, 800-449-4900
             [email protected]

SOURCE Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP