NEW YORK, Dec. 19, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Pomerantz LLP announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed against Intercept Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (“Intercept” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: ICPT) and certain of its officers. The class action, filed in United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, and docketed under 20-cv-05377, is on behalf of a class consisting of all persons other than Defendants who purchased or otherwise, acquired Intercept securities between September 28, 2019 and October 7, 2020, both dates inclusive (the “Class Period”), seeking to recover damages caused by Defendants’ violations of the federal securities laws and to pursue remedies under Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”) and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder, against the Company and certain of its top officials.
If you are a shareholder who purchased Intercept securities during the class period, you have until January 4, 2021, to ask the Court to appoint you as Lead Plaintiff for the class. A copy of the Complaint can be obtained at www.pomerantzlaw.com. To discuss this action, contact Robert S. Willoughby at [email protected] or 888.476.6529 (or 888.4-POMLAW), toll-free, Ext. 7980. Those who inquire by e-mail are encouraged to include their mailing address, telephone number, and the number of shares purchased.
[Click here for information about joining the class action]
Intercept is a biopharmaceutical company that focuses on the development and commercialization of therapeutics to treat progressive non-viral liver diseases in the U.S.
Intercept’s lead product candidate is Ocaliva (obeticholic acid (“OCA”)), a farnesoid X receptor agonist used for the treatment of primary biliary cholangitis (“PBC”), a rare and chronic liver disease, in combination with ursodeoxycholic acid in adults. The Company is also developing OCA for various other indications, including nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (“NASH”).
In 2016, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) granted accelerated approval of Ocaliva for treating PBC.
Then, in late 2017, both Intercept and the FDA issued warnings concerning the risk of overdosing patients with the drug, and multiple reports of severe liver injuries and deaths linked with its use.
Despite these concerns, Defendants continued to tout Ocaliva sales and purported benefits, and its potential indication for treating various other medical conditions. For example, just two years later, in September 2019, Intercept submitted a New Drug Application (“NDA”) to the FDA for OCA to treat patients with liver fibrosis due to NASH.
The complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and misleading statements regarding the Company’s business, operational, and compliance policies. Specifically, Defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) Defendants downplayed the true scope and severity of safety concerns associated with Ocaliva’s use in treating PBC; (ii) the foregoing increased the likelihood of an FDA investigation into Ocaliva’s development, thereby jeopardizing Ocaliva’s continued marketability and the sustainability of its sales; (iii) any purported benefits associated with OCA’s efficacy in treating NASH were outweighed by the risks of its use; (iv) as a result, the FDA was unlikely to approve the Company’s NDA for OCA in treating patients with liver fibrosis due to NASH; and (v) as a result of all the foregoing, the Company’s public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.
On May 22, 2020, Intercept reported that the FDA “has notified Intercept that its tentatively scheduled June 9, 2020 advisory committee meeting (AdCom) relating to the company’s [NDA] for [OCA] for the treatment of liver fibrosis due to [NASH] has been postponed” to “accommodate the review of additional data requested by the FDA that the company intends to submit within the next week.”
On this news, Intercept’s stock price fell $11.18 per share, or 12.19%, to close at $80.51 per share on May 22, 2020.
On June 29, 2020, Intercept issued a press release announcing that the FDA had issued a Complete Response Letter (“CRL”) rejecting the Company’s NDA for Ocaliva for the treatment of liver fibrosis due to NASH. According to that press release, “[t]he CRL indicated that, based on the data the FDA has reviewed to date,” the FDA “has determined that the predicted benefit of OCA based on a surrogate histopathologic endpoint remains uncertain and does not sufficiently outweigh the potential risks to support accelerated approval for the treatment of patients with liver fibrosis due to NASH.” The press release further advised, among other things, that the “[t]he FDA recommends that Intercept submit additional post-interim analysis efficacy and safety data from the ongoing REGENERATE study in support of potential accelerated approval and that the long-term outcomes phase of the study should continue.”
On this news, Intercept’s stock price fell $30.79 per share, or 39.73%, to close at $46.70 per share on June 29, 2020.
Then, on October 8, 2020, news outlets reported that Intercept was “facing an investigation from the [FDA] over the potential risk of liver injury in patients taking Ocaliva, [Intercept’s] treatment for primary biliary cholangitis, a rare, chronic liver disease.”
On this news, Intercept’s stock price fell $3.30 per share, or 8.05%, to close at $37.69 per share on October 8, 2020.
The Pomerantz Firm, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Paris is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, the Pomerantz Firm pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 80 years later, the Pomerantz Firm continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomerantzlaw.com.
CONTACT:
Robert S. Willoughby
Pomerantz LLP
[email protected]
888-476-6529 ext. 7980
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