WASHINGTON, Nov. 16, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC is conducting an investigation to determine whether Zafgen, Inc. ("Zafgen" or the "Company") and certain of its officers and directors made false and misleading statements and/or omissions in violation of Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
A class action lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts by another law firm on behalf of purchasers of the common stock of Zafgen (NASDAQ: ZFGN ) between January 12, 2015 and October 16, 2015, inclusive (the "Class Period").
Zafgen is a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to developing drugs for patients affected by obesity and complex metabolic disorders. The Company's lead product candidate is beloranib, which was undergoing testing in clinical trials. Zafgen describes beloranib as a "novel, first-in-class, twice-weekly subcutaneous, or SC, injection being developed for the treatment of multiple indications, including severe obesity."
The complaint alleges that Zafgen and its Chief Executive Officer ("Defendants") misrepresented and/or failed to disclose that: (1) thrombotic events in the clinical studies of beloranib were underreported; and (2) thrombotic events all occurred in patients treated with beloranib, while none occurred in patients treated with a placebo.
The claims in this case followed the drop in the Zafgen share price in response to the news that the FDA had placed a partial clinical hold on beloranib following the death of a patient in an ongoing Phase 3 trial of the drug. Zafgen reported that the clinical hold was due to "previously reported thromboembolic events in ongoing and prior clinical trials of beloranib and the unknown nature of the death."
On October 16, 2015, the Company revealed that the patient who had died had been treated with beloranib rather than a placebo, and also reported that there had been a total of six thrombotic events in ongoing and previous trials of the drug. Moreover, it disclosed that all six instances of thrombotic events had occurred in patients treated with beloranib; no events occurred in any patients in the placebo arms of the studies.
The price of Zafgen shares fell from $21.02 to $10.36 on October 16.
Cohen Milstein encourages all investors who purchased Zafgen common stock between January 12, 2015 and October 16, 2015 or former employees with information concerning this matter to contact the firm.
If you are a Zafgen shareholder and would like to discuss your right to recover for your economic loss, you may, without any cost or obligation, call Cohen Milstein's Managing Partner, Steven J. Toll at (888) 240-0775 or (202) 408-4600, or email him at stoll@cohenmilstein.com . If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than December 21, 2015 to request appointment. Any member of the proposed class may retain Cohen Milstein or other attorneys to serve as your counsel in this action, or you may do nothing and remain an absent class member.
Cohen Milstein has significant experience in prosecuting investor class actions and actions involving securities fraud, and is active in major litigation pending in federal and state courts throughout the nation. Cohen Milstein has taken a lead role in numerous important cases on behalf of defrauded investors, and has been responsible for a number of outstanding recoveries which, in the aggregate, total over two billion dollars. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. For more information visit www.cohenmilstein.com .
If you have any questions about this notice or the action, or with regard to your rights, please contact either of the following:
Steven J. Toll, Esq. Rhys Tucker Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC 1100 New York Avenue, N.W. West Tower, Suite 500 Washington, D.C. 20005 Telephone: (888) 240-0775 or (202) 408-4600 Email: ; Attorney Advertising
