SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 22, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, a national investor-rights law firm, announces the filing of a securities fraud class action lawsuit against MannKind Corp. (NASDAQ:MNKD) related to the disappointing sales of its flagship insulin inhalant, Afrezza and alerts investors there is a March 15, 2016 lead plaintiff deadline.
If you suffered losses because of your purchases of MannKind securities between August 10, 2015 and January 5, 2016, or have information that will help our continuing investigation contact Hagens Berman Partner Reed Kathrein, who is leading the firm’s investigation by calling 510-725-3000, emailing MNKD@hbsslaw.com or visiting https://www.hbsslaw.com/cases/MNKD. The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California and investors have until March 15, 2016 to move the court to participate as a lead plaintiff.
MannKind, is a biopharmaceutical company whose main product, Afrezza, is a rapid-acting insulin inhaled at mealtimes to help control insulin levels in adults with type 1 and type 2 diabetes. On January 5, 2016, MannKind issued a press release announcing the termination of its license and collaboration agreement with pharmaceutical distributor Sanofi-Aventis. That same day, Bloomberg reported that Sanofi terminated the agreement with MannKind due to low level of prescriptions despite Sanofi's best efforts. On this news, the company's stock fell $0.70 per share, or over 48%, to close at $0.75 per share on January 5, 2016.
Then, on January 6, 2016, an article published in the LA Times stated that Afrezza was unsuccessful because the doctors tasked with carrying out FDA-mandated lung testing on Afrezza patients were unfamiliar with the tests, and didn’t prescribe Afrezza as a result. On this news, the company's stock fell further, by approximately 2.67%, to close at $0.73 per share on January 6, 2016.
The complaint alleges that defendants misled investors by failing to disclose that, in spite of MannKind’s assurances, the FDA’s required testing was impeding sales of Afrezza. As a result, their statements throughout the class period were false and / or misleading and lacked a reasonable basis, in violation of the securities laws.
Whistleblowers: Persons with non-public information regarding MannKind should consider their options to help in the investigation or take advantage of the SEC 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. For more information, call Reed Kathrein at (510) 725-3000 or email MKND@hbsslaw.com.
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