WASHINGTON, March 27, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC is conducting an investigation to determine whether Orexigen Therapeutics, Inc. ("Orexigen" or the "Company") and certain of its officers and directors made false and misleading statements and/or omissions in violation of Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
A class action lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California by another law firm on behalf of purchasers of the common stock of Orexigen Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq:OREX) between March 3, 2015 and March 5, 2015, inclusive (the "Class Period").
Orexigen is a biopharmaceutical company developing pharmaceutical product candidates for the treatment of obesity. Its top drug development candidate is Contrave, which is purportedly designed to regulate appetite and energy expenditure through central nervous system activity.
The Complaint alleges that as part of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") post-marketing approval process for Contrave, Orexigen was required to conduct "a new randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study to evaluate the effects of long-term treatment with Contrave on the incidence of Major Adverse Cardiac Events in overweight and obese subjects with cardiovascular disease or multiple cardiovascular risk factors (the "LIGHT study").
On March 3, 2015, in connection with reporting to investors the status of certain Contrave patent applications, Orexigen disclosed detailed interim results of its ongoing LIGHT study, allegedly against the advice of the FDA and in apparent violation of its agreement not to publish interim results from that study. As a result of the Company's March 3, 2015, disclosure of the interim study results, the complaint alleges that the price of Orexigen common stock significantly increased in intraday trading on March 3, 2015, on highly unusual trading volume.
After the close of trading on March 5, 2015, Forbes published a report entitled "Top FDA Official Says Orexigen Study Result 'Unreliable,' 'Misleading'." The complaint further alleges that this report contained commentary from an FDA official charged with overseeing the Contrave post-marketing clinical trial program who stated in pertinent part that the interim data from the study was probably "unreliable", "misleading", and "likely false", with the Forbes report warning that "[i]f Orexigen cannot find a way to set things right, it could face fines, civil penalties, or even the withdrawal of Contrave from the market." The price of Orexigen shares fell from $8.01 to $7.10 on March 6.
Cohen Milstein encourages all investors who purchased Orexigen common stock between March 3, 2015 and March 5, 2015, inclusive or former employees with information concerning this matter to contact the firm.
If you are an Orexigen shareholder and would like to discuss your right to recover for your economic loss, you may, without any cost or obligation, call Cohen Milstein's Managing Partner, Steven J. Toll at (888) 240-0775 or (202) 408-4600, or email him at stoll@cohenmilstein.com. If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than May 11, 2015 to request appointment. Any member of the proposed class may retain Cohen Milstein or other attorneys to serve as your counsel in this action, or you may do nothing and remain an absent class member.
Cohen Milstein has significant experience in prosecuting investor class actions and actions involving securities fraud, and is active in major litigation pending in federal and state courts throughout the nation. Cohen Milstein has taken a lead role in numerous important cases on behalf of defrauded investors, and has been responsible for a number of outstanding recoveries which, in the aggregate, total over two billion dollars. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. For more information visit www.cohenmilstein.com.
If you have any questions about this notice or the action, or with regard to your rights, please contact either of the following:
Steven J. Toll, Esq.
Rhys Tucker
Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC
1100 New York Avenue, N.W.
West Tower, Suite 500
Washington, D.C. 20005
Telephone: (888) 240-0775 or (202) 408-4600
Email: stoll@cohenmilstein.com; rtucker@cohenmilstein.com
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