Juno Therapeutics Faces Securities Class Action

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Market Advisors Law Group PLLC announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed against  Juno Therapeutics, Inc. (“Juno” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: JUNO) and certain of its officers.   The class action, filed in United States District Court, Western District of Washington, is on behalf of a class consisting of all persons securities between June 4, 2016 and July 7, 2016, inclusive (the “Class Period”).

Juno is a biopharmaceutical company that is developing cell-based cancer immunotherapies. Its leading product candidate is called JCAR015, which is currently in clinical trials.

The Allegations Against Juno

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:  Defendants made misleading partial disclosures about JCAR015’s safety and made public misrepresentations or failed to disclose material facts of the death of patients in its Phase 2 clinical trial.

In May 2016, a patient in the Phase 2 trial of JCAR015—dubbed the “ROCKET” trial by Juno—died of a cerebral edema, a form of neurotoxicity.  In late June or early July, two more patients in the ROCKET trial died of cerebral edemas. This caused the FDA to issue a clinical hold and forced Defendants to reveal the truth, which they finally did on July 7, 2016, after the market closed.

The Company knows—and has previously admitted—that one of the notable side effects of JCAR015 is “severe neurotoxicity.” In May 2016, a patient in the Phase 2 trial of JCAR015—the so-called “ROCKET” trial—died of a cerebral edema (which is, of course, a form of neurotoxicity).

Juno knew the patient death was important: it consulted with its Data Safety Monitoring Board (“DSMB”) and the Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) about an appropriate response. Yet it failed to tell investors.

Instead, in early June, Juno issued a glowing press release about JCAR015 that boasted of “[flower side effects in patients with minimal disease at time of CAR T cell infusion” and made partial, misleading disclosures about side effects—revealing that “Grade 3 or higher neurotoxicity was observed in 15/51 (29%) patients” in a Phase 1 trial but failing to disclose the patient death in May.
Shortly thereafter, insiders cashed in. Most notably, Defendant Hans E. Bishop, Juno’s CEO, sold over $8.6 million worth of shares in June 2016—more than twice the value of his total sales for all of 2015.
In late June or early July, two more patients in the ROCKET trial died of cerebral edemas. This caused the FDA to issue a clinical hold and forced Defendants to reveal the truth.
After admitting the patient death in May and revealing the clinical hold, Juno’s stock cratered—
falling by more than 30% the day after the corrective disclosure.
On this news, the Company’s share price fell $13.01, or 31.87%, to close at $27.81 on July 8, 2016.
Juno Investors Have Legal Options
If you suffered a loss from Juno investments you have until September 12, 2016 to request that the Court appoint you as lead plaintiff. Your ability to share in any recovery doesn’t require that you serve as a lead plaintiff. Concerned shareholders who would like more information about their rights and potential remedies can contact attorney David P. Abel (202) 559-8591, [email protected].
About USMA
U.S. Market Advisors Law Group PLLC is a law firm based in Washington, D.C. The firm represents institutional investors from across the world in U.S. securities class action lawsuits.
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