| COMPANY |
Akero Therapeutics, Inc. |
| COURT |
United States District Court for the Northern District of California |
| CASE NUMBER |
24-cv-02534 |
| JUDGE |
The Hon. Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers |
| CLASS PERIOD |
September 13, 2022 and October 9, 2023 |
| SECURITY TYPE |
Common Stock |
LEAD PLAINTIFF DEADLINE IS JUNE 25, 2024.
If you have suffered losses and would like to discuss your rights, please fill out this form or you may contact Jonathan Naji, Esq. at (484) 270-1453 or via e-mail at info@ktmc.com.
Case Background:
A class action lawsuit has been filed on behalf of those who purchased or acquired Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (“Akero”) (NASDAQ: AKRO) common stock between September 13, 2022 and October 9, 2023, both dates inclusive (the “Class Period”).
Akero is a clinical stage drug development company which has yet to generate any revenues because the FDA has not approved any of its drug candidates for sale. Because funding drug development, clinical trials, and commercialization is capital-intensive, Akero has suffered significant recurring losses since its inception, including over $290 million in losses during the years 2020 to 2022 alone. To finance the company’s operations, Akero conducted two secondary stock offerings and one at-the-market stock offering during the Class Period, raising over $577 million.
In order to successfully complete these offerings and raise part of the funding, Akero needed to develop and commercialize EFX, Akero’s lead product candidate, which was being developed to treat Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (“NASH”) - a serious form of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease that is estimated to affect 17 million Americans. The Class Period begins on September 13, 2022. On that date, Akero filed with the SEC a Form 8-K which reported the 24-week results for Akero’s Phase 2b HARMONY study of EFX in patients with pre-cirrhotic NASH. The Form 8-K and the attached press release stated that both the 50 milligram and 28 milligram doses of EFX had achieved statistical significance on primary and secondary histology endpoints after 24 weeks.
Two days later, on September 15, 2022, Akero filed with the SEC a prospectus supplement for a secondary offering of Akero common stock, puursuant to, the company eventually sold over 8.8 million shares of Akero common stock at $26 per share, raising gross proceeds of approximately $230 million.
Throughout the Class Period, Defendants repeatedly misled investors as to the true nature of the patient population that was being tested in Akero’s SYMMETRY study. Specifically, despite telling investors that the study’s patient population was limited to those with NASH induced cirrhosis (a fact that was key for data integrity and the likelihood of study success), for approximately 20% of those being tested Akero had not confirmed that the patients had NASH and that NASH had in fact caused their cirrhosis.
Akero shocked the market on October 10, 2023 when the company posted disappointing interim data from its Phase 2b SYMMETRY trial for EFX. Specifically, Akero stated that 22% (28mg) and 24% (50mg) of those on EFX and 14% on placebo indicated at least one stage improvement in fibrosis with no worsening of NASH at week 36, the trial's primary endpoint, but that these changes were not statistically significant. In addition, Akero added that 12 patients, including 11 in EFX groups, discontinued the trial due to drug-related adverse events. On this news, Akero's stock price fell $30.39 per share, or 62.61%, to close at $18.15 per share on October 10, 2023.
What is a Lead Plaintiff?
A lead plaintiff is a representative party that acts on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. In order to be appointed lead plaintiff, the Court must determine that the class member’s claim is typical of the claims of other class members, and that the class member will adequately represent the class. Your ability to share in any recovery is not, however, affected by the decision whether or not to serve as a lead plaintiff. Filling out the online form above or communicating with any counsel is not necessary to participate or share in any recovery achieved in this case. Any member of the purported class may move the court to serve as a lead plaintiff through counsel of his/her choice, or may choose to do nothing and remain an inactive class member.