Law firm Dechert LLP has released its “Survey of Securities Fraud Class Actions Brought Against Life Sciences Companies.” The survey reveals that:
- 23 different pharmaceutical and biotech companies, along with certain individuals, were sued for alleged securities fraud.
- In 2008, the majority of the securities fraud lawsuits against such companies focused not on public statements regarding the prospects for FDA approval, product efficacy, or product safety as they did in 2007, but rather on statements about the company’s financial information and health.
- Securities fraud plaintiffs targeted companies with smaller market capitalizations over 50% of the time.
Looking forward, the survey observes that “life sciences companies’ inherent vulnerability may increase when the boom of securities class actions in the financial sector busts. As we noted in our previous surveys, life sciences companies are particularly vulnerable to securities lawsuits because of their inherently
volatile stock prices, often driven by a drug or device product life cycle fraught with potential for adverse and unpredictable events.”
Read the Survey of Securities Fraud Class Actions Brought Against Life Sciences Companies
