SAN DIEGO, Jan. 12, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP ("Robbins Geller") (http://www.rgrdlaw.com/cases/esperion/) today announced that a class action has been commenced in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan on behalf of purchasers of Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. ("Esperion") (NASDAQ:ESPR) common stock during the period between August 18, 2015 and September 28, 2015 (the "Class Period").
If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than 60 days from today. If you wish to discuss this action or have any questions concerning this notice or your rights or interests, please contact plaintiff's counsel, Darren Robbins of Robbins Geller at 800/449-4900 or 619/231-1058, or via e-mail at [email protected]. If you are a member of this class, you can view a copy of the complaint as filed or join this class action online at http://www.rgrdlaw.com/cases/esperion/. Any member of the putative class may move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff through counsel of their choice, or may choose to do nothing and remain an absent class member.
The complaint charges Esperion and its Chief Executive Officer with violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Esperion is a pharmaceutical company that focuses on developing and commercializing oral low-density lipoprotein cholesterol ("LDL-cholesterol") lowering therapies for patients with hypercholesterolemia. Esperion's lead product candidate is ETC-1002, a once-daily small molecule designed to lower LDL-cholesterol levels. According to Esperion, ETC-1002 is designed to lower LDL-cholesterol while avoiding the side effects associated with other LDL-cholesterol lowering therapies on the market.
The complaint alleges that during the Class Period, defendants issued false and misleading statements and/or failed to disclose adverse information regarding Esperion's business and prospects, including that there was no clear path to approval for ETC-1002, and that the FDA had encouraged the Company to initiate a cardiovascular outcomes trial ("CVOT") and that completion of a CVOT could be necessary prior to approval of ETC-1002. As a result of these false statements and/or omissions, Esperion common stock traded at artificially inflated prices during the Class Period, reaching as high as $82 per share in intra-day trading.
On August 17, 2015, Esperion reported to investors material events from an early August 2015 meeting with the FDA regarding the next phase of the approval process for ETC-1002. The Company stated that during the meeting it was informed by the FDA that the Company would not have to complete a CVOT to gain approval of ETC-1002. Esperion also informed investors that it had a "'clear regulatory path forward for development and approval of ETC-1002.'"
Then, a little over a month later, after the market closed on September 28, 2015, the complaint alleges that Esperion reversed course about the early August 2015 FDA meeting – stating in a September 28, 2015 news release that the FDA had actually "encouraged the Company to initiate a cardiovascular outcomes trial promptly" and it may be necessary to have a completed CVOT prior to approval. Investors immediately recognized the differences in the two characterizations of the same meeting and reacted accordingly. When the market closed on September 28, 2015, Esperion stock was trading at $35.09 per share. After the market closed, the Company revealed the truth and the next day Esperion's stock opened at $26.00 per share. By the time the market digested the truth on September 29, 2015, the price of Esperion stock had fallen almost 50% from its previous close to $18.33 per share on unusually high volume.
Plaintiff seeks to recover damages on behalf of all purchasers of Esperion common stock during the Class Period (the "Class"). The plaintiff is represented by Robbins Geller, which has extensive experience in prosecuting investor class actions including actions involving financial fraud.
Robbins Geller, with 200 lawyers in ten offices, represents U.S. and international institutional investors in contingency-based securities and corporate litigation. The firm has obtained many of the largest securities class action recoveries in history and was ranked first in both the amount and number of shareholder class action recoveries in ISS's SCAS Top 50 report for 2014. Please visit http://www.rgrdlaw.com/cases/esperion/ for more information.
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SOURCE Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP
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