Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C. Reminds Investors That Class Action Lawsuits Have Been Filed Against Zymergen, Annovis Bio, and Cassava Sciences and Encourages Investors to Contact the Firm
NEW YORK, Sept. 22, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C., a nationally recognized shareholder rights law firm, reminds investors that class actions have been commenced on behalf of stockholders of Zymergen Inc. (NASDAQ: ZY), Annovis Bio, Inc. (NYSE: ANVS), and Cassava Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: SAVA). Stockholders have until the deadlines below to petition the court to serve as lead plaintiff. Additional information about each case can be found at the link provided.
Zymergen Inc. (NASDAQ: ZY)
Class Period: April 2021 IPO
Lead Plaintiff Deadline: October 4, 2021
In April 2021, Zymergen completed its IPO, selling approximately 18.5 million shares of common stock at $31 per share.
On August 3, 2021, after the market closed, Zymergen issued a business update stating that it “recently became aware of issues with its commercial product pipeline that will impact the Company’s delivery timeline and revenue projections.” Specifically, “several key target customers encountered technical issues in implementing Hyaline into their manufacturing processes,” and Zymergen also found that its total addressable market appears to be smaller than previously expected. As a result, Zymergen “no longer expects product revenue in 2021, and expects product revenue to be immaterial in 2022.” The Company also announced that its CEO was stepping down, effective immediately.
On this news, the Company’s stock price fell $26.58 per share, or 76%, to close at $8.25 per share on August 4, 2021, representing a nearly 73% decline from the IPO price.
The Registration Statement was materially false and misleading and omitted to state material adverse facts. Specifically, Defendants failed to disclose to investors: (1) that, during the qualification process for Hyaline, key customers had encountered technical issues, including product shrinkage and incompatibility with customers’ processes; (2) that, though the qualification process was critical to achieving market acceptance for Hyaline and generating revenue, Zymergen lacked visibility into the qualification process; (3) that, as a result, the Company overestimated demand for its products; (4) that, as a result of the foregoing, the Company’s product delivery timeline was reasonably likely to be delayed, which in turn would delay revenue generation; and (5) that, as a result of the foregoing, Defendants’ positive statements about the Company’s business, operations, and prospects, were materially misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis.
On July 28, 2021, after the market closed, Annovis reported interim clinical data from its Phase 2a trial. Among other things, the Company reported that AD patients 25 days after treatment failed to show statistically significant improvement compared to the placebo. Annovis also reported that, although patients showed cognitive improvements in certain areas, the results were not statistically significant.
On this news, the Company’s share price fell $65.94, or 60%, to close at $43.50 per share on July 29, 2021, on unusually heavy trading volume.
The complaint filed in this class action alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and/or misleading statements, as well as failed to disclose material adverse facts about the Company’s business, operations, and prospects. Specifically, Defendants failed to disclose to investors: (1) that Annovis’s ANVS401 did not show statistically significant results across two patient populations as to factors such as orientation, judgement, and problem solving; and (2) as a result, Defendants’ statements about its business, operations, and prospects were materially false and misleading and/or lacked reasonable basis at all relevant times.
Class Period: September 14, 2020 to August 27, 2021
Lead Plaintiff Deadline: October 26, 2021
On August 24, 2021, after the market closed, reports emerged about a citizen petition submitted to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) concerning the accuracy and integrity of clinical data for simufilam. The petition requested that the FDA halt Cassava’s clinical trials pending a thorough audit of the publications and data relied upon by the Company.
Among other things, the petition stated that the “detailed analysis of the western blots [relied on by Cassava to support the connection between simufilam and Alzheimer’s] shows a series of anomalies that are suggestive of systematic data manipulation and misrepresentation.” It also stated that the methodology for studies “about Simufilam’s effects in experiments conducted on postmortem human brain tissue . . . defies logic, and the data presented again have hallmarks of manipulation.” The petition further stated that, after initial analyses of Phase 2b trials found that Simufilam was ineffective in improving the primary biomarkers endpoint, “Cassava had these samples analyzed again and this time reported that Simufilam rapidly and robustly improved a wide array of biomarkers” and the reanalysis “shows signs of data anomalies or manipulation.”
On August 25, 2021, before the market opened, Cassava issued a response to the petition, claiming that the allegations regarding scientific integrity are false and misleading. Among other things, the Company claimed that the clinical data, which the citizen petition stated had been reanalyzed to show simufilam was effective, had been generated by Quanterix Corp. (“Quanterix”), an independent company, suggesting that the reanalysis was valid.
On August 27, 2021, before the market opened, Quanterix issued a statement denying the Company’s claims, stating that it “did not interpret the test results or prepare the data” touted by Cassava.
The same day, Cassava responded to Quanterix’s statement, stating that “Quanterix’[s] sole responsibility with regard to this clinical study was to perform sample testing,specifically, to measure levels of p-tau in plasma samples collected from study subjects.”
On this news, the Company’s share price fell $12.51, or 17.6%, to close at $58.34 per share on August 27, 2021, on unusually heavy trading volume.
The complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and/or misleading statements, as well as failed to disclose material adverse facts about the Company’s business operations, and prospects. Specifically, Defendants failed to disclose to investors: (1) that data underlying the foundational research for Cassava’s product candidates had been manipulated; (2) that experiments using post-mortem human brain tissue frozen for nearly 10 years was contrary to a basic understanding of neurobiology; (3) that biomarker analysis for patients treated with simufilam had been manipulated to conclude that simufilam was effective; (4) that Quanterix, an independent company, had not interpreted the test results or prepared the data charts for the biomarker analysis for patients treated with simufilam; (5) that, as a result of the foregoing, there was a reasonable likelihood that Cassava would face regulatory scrutiny in connection with the development of simufilam; and (6) that, as a result of the foregoing, Defendants’ positive statements about the Company’s business, operations, and prospects were materially misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis.
About Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C.: Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C. is a nationally recognized law firm with offices in New York, California, and South Carolina. The firm represents individual and institutional investors in commercial, securities, derivative, and other complex litigation in state and federal courts across the country. For more information about the firm, please visit www.bespc.com. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.
