TMCnet News
Hagens Berman Advises Investors of March 17, 2014, Deadline in Aegerion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Securities Lawsuit and InvestigationBERKELEY, Calif. --(Business Wire)-- Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, a national investor-rights law firm, is investigating Aegerion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEGR) ("Aegerion") for securities fraud following the news that the company illegally engaged in off-label marketing schemes and advises investors of the class-action lead plaintiff deadline on March 17, 2014. Persons with information or who have suffered financial losses can contact a Hagens Berman attorney by emailing [email protected]. The securities fraud class-action lawsuit, filed on Jan. 15, 2014, on behalf of investors who purchased stock between March 15, 2012 and Jan. 9, 2014 (the "Class Period"), alleges that Aegerion jeopardized the investments of its shareholders by violating FDA and FDCA regulations regarding the marketing of prescription drugs. For more information about the suit, please contact Hagens Berman Partner Reed Kathrein, who is leading the firm's investigation, by calling 510-725-3000. Additional information is available at http://hb-securities.com/investigations/Aegerion. The complaint alleges that Aegerion, a biopharmaceutical company, violated FDA regulations by directly marketing a drug for a use other than for the FDA approved indication while intentionally withholding this information from investors. The company is engaged in development and commercialization of therapeutics to treat debilitating and fatal rare diseases, according to the complaint. Violating the FDA's regulations regarding this kind of off-label marketing can greatly jeopardize the financial stability of a company, potentially resulting in fines and other penalties, the complaint states. News reports on Nov. 8, 2013, revealed Aegerion CEO, Marc D. Beer, had received warning letters from the FDA about these violations, according to the filing. Following these reports, the U.S. Department of Justice subpoenaed the company for documents regarding its marketing and sale of its drug, JUXTAPID. At the time this news became public, Aegerion shares declined $7.98 per share, or nearly 11 percent, to close at $65.77 per share on Jan. 10, 2014. Additionally, the complaint states that company insiders sold almost one million shares of Aegerion stock, yet did not purchase any Aegerion shares. One month prior to receiving the FDA's warning letter, Beer sold 40,000 Aegerion shares and more than 700,000 options, according to the suit filed. Other company insiders behaved similarly. "Tactics like the ones put in place by Aegerion appear to be blatant violations of federal regulations and set the company up to be penalized heavily by government agencies," said Mr. Kathrein. "They made a choice to withhold these risky and potentially illegal behaviors from investors and engage in insider trading. Moves like these clearly put shareholders in jeopardy for the sake of those running the company." The deadline to file for lead plaintiff in a recently filed securities fraud class action is March 17, 2014. Persons with non-public information should consider their options to help in the investigation or take advantage of the SEC (News - Alert) Whistleblower program. Under the new SEC Whistleblower program, whistleblowers who provide original information may receive rewards totaling up to 30 percent of any successful recovery made by the SEC. Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP is an investor-rights class-action law firm with offices in nine cities. The Firm represents investors, whistleblowers, workers and consumers in complex litigation. More about the law firm and its successes can be found at www.hb-securities.com. Read the Firm's Securities Newsletter at http://www.hb-securities.com/newsletter. The firm's blog is located at www.meaningfuldisclosure.com. |
