Labaton Sucharow LLP Announce Notice of Pendency and Proposed Settlement of Stockholder Class Action to All Holders of Common Stock of Akcea Therapeutics, Inc. at Any Time Between July 19, 2017 Through October 12, 2020

WILMINGTON, Del., Aug. 8, 2022 /PRNewswire/ --

IN THE COURT OF CHANCERY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE

SUMMARY NOTICE OF PENDENCY AND PROPOSED SETTLEMENT OF STOCKHOLDER CLASS ACTION, SETTLEMENT HEARING,
AND RIGHT TO APPEAR

PLEASE READ THIS NOTICE CAREFULLY.  YOUR RIGHTS WILL BE AFFECTED BY A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT PENDING IN THIS COURT.

YOU ARE HEREBY NOTIFIED, pursuant to an Order of the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware (the "Court"), that the above-captioned stockholder class action (the "Action") is pending in the Court.

YOU ARE ALSO NOTIFIED that Plaintiffs in the Action, on behalf of themselves and the Settlement Class, have reached a proposed settlement of the Action for $12,500,000 in cash (the "Settlement").  If approved by the Court, the Settlement will resolve all claims in the Action.

A hearing (the "Settlement Hearing") will be held on October 11, 2022 at 1:30 p.m., before The Honorable Lori Will, Vice Chancellor, either in person at the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware, New Castle County, Leonard L. Williams Justice Center, 500 North King Street, Wilmington, DE 19801, or by telephone or videoconference (in the discretion of the Court), to determine, among other things: (i) whether the Action may be permanently maintained as a non-opt out class action and whether the Settlement Class should be certified permanently, for purposes of the Settlement, pursuant to Court of Chancery Rules 23(a), 23(b)(1), and 23(b)(2); (ii) whether Plaintiffs may be permanently designated as representatives for the Settlement Class and Plaintiffs' Counsel as counsel for the Settlement Class, and whether Plaintiffs and Plaintiffs' Counsel have adequately represented the interests of the Settlement Class in the Action; (iii) whether the proposed Settlement on the terms and conditions provided for in the Stipulation and Agreement of Settlement, Compromise, and Release dated July 5, 2022 (the "Stipulation") is fair, reasonable and adequate to the Settlement Class, and should be approved by the Court; (iv) whether a Judgment, substantially in the form attached as Exhibit D to the Stipulation, should be entered dismissing the Action with prejudice against Defendants; (v) whether the proposed Plan of Allocation of the Net Settlement Fund is fair and reasonable, and should therefore be approved; (vi) whether the application by Plaintiffs' Counsel for an award of attorneys' fees and Litigation Expenses in connection with the benefits achieved under the Settlement should be approved; and (vii) to consider any other matters that may properly be brought before the Court in connection with the Settlement.

The ongoing COVID-19 health emergency is a fluid situation that creates the possibility that the Court may decide to conduct the Settlement Hearing by video or telephonic conference, or otherwise allow members of the Settlement Class ("Class Members") to appear at the hearing by phone or video, without further written notice to Class Members.  In order to determine whether the date and time of the Settlement Hearing have changed, or whether Class Members must or may participate by phone or video, it is important that you monitor the Court's docket and the Settlement website, https://abdataclassaction.com/about-us/cases/, before making any plans to attend the Settlement Hearing.  Any updates regarding the Settlement Hearing, including any changes to the date or time of the hearing or updates regarding in-person or telephonic appearances at the hearing, will be posted to the Settlement website, https://abdataclassaction.com/about-us/cases/.  Also, if the Court requires or allows Class Members to participate in the Settlement Hearing by telephone or video conference, the information needed to access the conference will be posted to the Settlement website, https://abdataclassaction.com/about-us/cases/.

If you are a member of the Settlement Class, your rights will be affected by the pending Action and the Settlement, and you may be entitled to share in the Net Settlement Fund.  If you have not yet received the Notice, you may obtain a copy of the Notice by contacting the Settlement Administrator at 1-877-829-2938.  A copy of the Notice can also be downloaded from the Settlement website, https://abdataclassaction.com/about-us/cases/.

If the Settlement is approved by the Court and the Effective Date occurs, the Net Settlement Fund will be distributed on a pro rata basis to "Eligible Class Members" in accordance with the proposed Plan of Allocation set forth in the Notice or such other plan of allocation as is approved by the Court.  Under the proposed Plan of Allocation, "Eligible Class Members" consist of Class Members who held shares of common stock of Akcea Therapeutics, Inc. at the Merger's Closing and therefore received or were entitled to receive the Merger Consideration for their Eligible Shares.  Pursuant to the proposed Plan of Allocation, each Eligible Class Member will be eligible to receive a pro rata payment from the Net Settlement Fund equal to the product of (i) the number of Eligible Shares held by the Eligible Class Member and (ii) the "Per-Share Recovery" for the Settlement, which will be determined by dividing the total amount of the Net Settlement Fund by the total number of Eligible Shares.  Eligible Class Members do not have to submit a claim form to receive a payment from the Settlement.

Any objections to the proposed Settlement, the proposed Plan of Allocation, or Plaintiffs' Counsel's application for an award of attorneys' fees and Litigation Expenses in connection with the Settlement must be filed with the Register in Chancery in the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware and delivered to Plaintiffs' Lead Counsel and Defendants' Counsel such that they are received no later than September 26, 2022, in accordance with the instructions set forth in the Notice.

Please do not contact the Court or the Office of the Register in Chancery regarding this notice.  All questions about this notice, the proposed Settlement, or your eligibility to participate in the Settlement should be directed to the Settlement Administrator or Plaintiffs' Lead Counsel.

Requests for the Notice should be made to the Settlement Administrator:

1-877-829-2938
https://abdataclassaction.com/about-us/cases/

Inquiries, other than requests for the Notice, should be made to Plaintiffs' Counsel:

Ned Weinberger, Esq.
Labaton Sucharow LLP
222 Delaware Avenue, Suite 1510
Wilmington, Delaware 19801
(302) 573-2540
[email protected]

BY ORDER OF THE COURT OF
CHANCERY OF THE STATE
OF DELAWARE

¹ Certain persons and entities are excluded from the Settlement Class by definition, as set forth in the full Notice of Pendency and Proposed Settlement of Stockholder Class Action, Settlement Hearing, and Right to Appear (the "Notice"), available at https://abdataclassaction.com/about-us/cases/.

SOURCE Labaton Sucharow LLP