Life sciences companies often find themselves the target of securities fraud litigation or investigations, and our experienced, interdisciplinary team has a strong record of achieving favorable results when these challenges arise. We defend companies and their management and boards of directors in securities fraud class actions and shareholder derivative suits, counsel leadership through regulatory investigations, and advise on related governance issues. Our practitioners regularly handle matters in federal and state jurisdictions across the United States and before the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and other regulatory agencies. The firm also has unmatched experience representing pharmaceutical and medical device companies in matters related to all other aspects of their business, bringing a deep understanding of clinical trials, the FDA approval process, and other crucial concerns when counseling clients on securities issues.

We have successfully defended clients in many securities fraud class action suits, derivative suits, and SEC investigations related to disclosures surrounding the progress of clinical trials, the FDA approval process, and the safety and efficacy of their products. Our recent experience includes:

• DISMISSAL OF SHAREHOLDER CLASS ACTION
  The dismissal of all claims against a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company in a shareholder class action alleging that the company failed to adequately disclose supposed flaws in clinical trial design, weaknesses in clinical data, and communications with FDA. The court adopted our arguments that the purportedly omitted information was publicly available, defendants had made adequate risk disclosures, and that defendants’ statements were not misleading. Plaintiffs did not attempt to replead or appeal.
• DISTRICT AND APPELLATE COURT VICTORY IN SHAREHOLDER CLASS ACTION
  Affirmance in the First Circuit Court of Appeals of the dismissal of a securities fraud class action in the District Court of Massachusetts against a biopharmaceutical company on a variety of grounds, including lack of falsity and scienter, in a matter arising out of claims that the company failed to disclose serious adverse events and other issues related to its Phase III clinical trials.
• DISMISSAL OF ALL CLAIMS IN SECURITIES FRAUD CLASS ACTION
  Dismissal of a securities fraud class action in the Southern District of California against a clinical-stage biotechnology company, arising out of claims that the company failed to disclose details of clinical trial design and supposed weaknesses in clinical data. Largely adopting our arguments, the court found that plaintiffs failed to allege a materially misleading statement and failed to allege scienter. Plaintiffs did not attempt to replead, and we obtained voluntary dismissal of a related derivative case soon thereafter.

• DISTRICT COURT VICTORY IN SHAREHOLDER CLASS ACTION
  Dismissal of all claims against a biopharmaceutical company and its officers in a shareholder class action alleging securities fraud in the District of Massachusetts. We successfully refuted claims that the company and its executives misled investors about possible FDA approval of a cancer drug, with the judge concluding, “It is difficult to determine how defendants could have more explicitly warned the public about the uncertainty of its timing estimates or what language would have satisfied plaintiff.”
• DISTRICT AND APPELLATE COURT VICTORY IN SHAREHOLDER CLASS ACTION AND SUCCESSFUL CONCLUSION OF SEC INVESTIGATION
  Dismissal of a federal class action lawsuit alleging that a biopharmaceutical company and its executives misled shareholders regarding whether the company manufactured its lead drug candidate using current Good Manufacturing Practices and the prospects for FDA approval. We obtained dismissal of all claims in the trial court at the motion to dismiss stage and successfully persuaded the appellate court to affirm the district court’s judgment. We also represented the company in a year-long SEC investigation related to these issues, which the SEC concluded without recommending any action.
• DISMISSAL OF SHAREHOLDER CLASS ACTION
  Dismissal of a federal securities fraud class action alleging pharmaceutical company concealed its alleged unlawful off-label marketing practices from the public and precluded investors from knowing the risks of investment. Following oral argument, the district court endorsed our reasoning and dismissed all claims with prejudice.
• DISMISSAL OF STATE AND FEDERAL SECURITIES ACT CLAIMS
  Secured a well-publicized decision that Massachusetts state courts cannot maintain nationwide class actions in Securities Act cases, leading to a stay of a state court securities case, followed by voluntarily dismissal of both the federal and state court cases, ending all pending securities litigation against a drug development company that had faced securities litigation based on its IPO.
• DISMISSAL OF ALL CLAIMS IN SHAREHOLDER CLASS ACTION
  Significant and often cited dismissal of all claims in a class action lawsuit in which shareholders alleged securities fraud following a drop in a pharmaceutical company’s share price after its announcement of disappointing results in a Phase 3 clinical trial. The most significant portion of the ruling involved the court’s rejection of the plaintiffs’ insider trading argument, wherein the court agreed with our argument regarding the use of a 10b5-1 trading plan.
• FEDERAL AND STATE TRIAL COURT AND APPELLATE VICTORIES IN DERIVATIVE AND SHAREHOLDER CLASS ACTION MATTERS
  Affirmance on appeal after the dismissal of all claims in a shareholder derivative lawsuit against a biomaterials and biotechnology company in a state trial court concerning the timing of a clinical study of a product designed to treat acute spinal cord injuries. We also obtained affirmance on appeal of the dismissal of all claims in a related federal securities class action.
• DISMISSAL OF SECURITIES CLASS ACTION
  Dismissal of a securities fraud action against a medical device company arising out of the company’s nondisclosure of a letter from the FDA regarding the trial of one of its products and the effect of the letter on the prospects for approval.