SAN FRANCISCO, July 20, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP alerts investors in Juno Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:JUNO) that a securities class action is pending in the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington and the Lead Plaintiff Deadline is September 12, 2016.
If you purchased or otherwise acquired securities of Juno between June 4, 2016 and July 7, 2016 and suffered over $75,000 in losses contact Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP. For more information visit:
https://www.hbsslaw.com/cases/JUNO
or contact Reed Kathrein, who is leading the firm’s investigation, by calling 510-725-3000 or emailing JUNO@hbsslaw.com.
In May 2016 a Juno patient in its JCAR015 Phase II clinical trial (“ROCKET study”) died of a cerebral edema (a neurotoxicity side effect Defendants knew about).
Even so, on June 4, 2016 Defendants glowingly announced the trial “Shows…Lower side effects”.
Defendants’ silence about the May 2016 death allowed its Chief Executive Officer’s (Hans Bishop) and Chief Financial Officer’s (Steve Harr) sales of over $10 million of Company stock before that death was disclosed. Bishop’s sales dwarfed the value of sales during 2015.
By July 7, 2016 two more patients in the ROCKET study died. The United States Food and Drug Administration placed a clinical hold on the trial. According to Bishop Juno, the FDA, and the Data Safety Monitoring Board had convened about the May 2016 neurotoxicity death. This fact was also not publicly disclosed before July 7, 2016. In response to the news, Juno’s stock price plummeted 31% to close at $27.81 per share on July 8, 2016.
“The timing of the May 2016 patient fatality, June 2016 “[l]ower side effects” announcement, suspiciously-timed insider selling, and surprise July 2016 public announcement together suggest Defendants’ knowledge of false or misleading statements and, in turn, securities law violations,” said Hagens Berman partner Reed Kathrein. “Defendants were well aware that patient deaths may prompt FDA clinical holds – in 2014 the FDA placed a hold on Juno’s JCAR015 trial after two patients died.”
Whistleblowers: Persons with non-public information regarding Juno Therapeutics should consider their options to help in the investigation or take advantage of the SEC Whistleblower program. Under the new SEC whistleblower program, whistleblowers who provide original information may receive rewards totaling up to 30 percent of any successful recovery made by the SEC. For more information, call Reed Kathrein at 510-725-3000 or email JUNO@hbsslaw.com.
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