BOSTON, July 15, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Juno Therapeutics, Inc. (“Juno” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ:JUNO) and its chief executive officer, Hans E. Bishop, were named as defendants in a lawsuit filed earlier this week by Block & Leviton LLP and Tousley Brain Stephens PLLC alleging that they violated the federal securities laws.
The lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington, Seattle Division, which is at 700 Stewart St, Seattle, WA 98101. The case is docket number 2:16-cv-01069 and is assigned to Chief Judge Ricardo S. Martinez.
The complaint alleges that Juno made misleading omissions regarding a patient death in the Phase 2 “ROCKET” trial of its lead product candidate, JCAR015. In May 2016, a patient in that trial died of a cerebral edema. Juno knew the patient death was important and consulted with the FDA about an appropriate response. Yet it failed to tell investors.
Instead, in early June, Juno issued a glowing press release that boasted of “[l]ower side effects” and made partial, misleading disclosures—revealing that “Grade 3 or higher neurotoxicity was observed in 15/51 (29%) patients” in a Phase 1 trial but failing to disclose the patient death in May.
After two other patients died in late June/early July, the FDA issued a clinical hold and Juno was forced to reveal the truth, in an announcement made after the close of trading on July 7, 2016. The next day, Juno’s stock dropped by more than 30%. The clinical hold was lifted on Tuesday, shortly after the lawsuit was filed, but the stock still closed yesterday down $12.02/share from its closing price on July 7—a 29.5% decline.
Bishop and other Juno insiders sold heavily in the weeks prior to these revelations.
If you purchased Juno stock between June 4, 2016 and July 7, 2016, inclusive you may be a member of the alleged class. You may seek appointment as lead plaintiff or take no action at this time. If you wish to be a lead plaintiff, you must file a motion by September 12, 2016. If you are interested in becoming a lead plaintiff, have questions about your legal rights, or have information relevant to this investigation, please contact attorneys Joel Fleming or Jeffrey Block of Block & Leviton LLP at (617) 398-5600 or Joel@blockesq.com / Jeff@blockesq.com or visit http://www.blockesq.com/juno. You may also retain counsel of your own choosing. Confidentiality is assured for whistleblowers or other persons with information relevant to the investigation.
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