Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (APLS) Misled Investors Regarding its Drug Candidate SYFOVRE

A shareholder filed a class action against Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: APLS) on behalf of persons and entities who purchased or otherwise acquired shares of Apellis common stock between January 28, 2021 and July 28, 2023. Apellis is a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company that focuses on the discovery, development, and commercialization of therapeutic compounds through the inhibition of the complement system for autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. One of Apellis’s leading therapeutic treatments, “SYFOVRE,” is an intravitreal pegcetacoplan injection that is the first and only approved therapy for geographic atrophy (“GA”), a leading cause of blindness.

According to the complaint, during the class period, defendants represented SYFOVRE "demonstrated a favorable safety profile” with minimal adverse effects and “no events of retinal vasculitis or retinal vein occlusion” observed. Notwithstanding defendants’ claims regarding the safety of SYFOVRE, on July 15, 2023, the American Society of Retina Specialists (“ASRS”) published a letter highlighting concerns with SYFOVRE.  Specifically, the ASRS indicated that physicians have reported cases of eye inflammation in patients treated with SYFOVRE, including six instances of occlusive retinal vasculitis, a type of inflammation that blocks blood flow through the vessels that feed the retina and potentially results in blindness. On this news, the price of Apellis common stock declined $32.04 per share, or nearly 38%, to close at $52.46 per share on July 17, 2023.

After the market closed on July 17, 2023, Apellis issued a statement addressing the concerns raised by ASRS regarding vasculitis and SYFOVRE and acknowledged that “[t]he Company is continuing to conduct a thorough investigation of each of the events, working closely with the [ASRS] and several external specialists.” On this news, the price of Apellis common stock declined an additional $12.46 per share, or 23.75%, to close at $40.00 per share on July 18, 2023.

On July 20, 2023, Wedbush downgraded Apellis’s price target by more than 50% per share, which caused the price of Apellis common stock to decline $6.25 per share, or approximately 15%, to close at $34.24 per share on July 20, 2023. 

What Now: Similarly situated shareholders may be eligible to participate in the class action against Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Shareholders who want to act as lead plaintiff for the class must file their motion for lead plaintiff by October 2, 2023. A lead plaintiff is a representative party acting on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation.  You do not have to participate in the case to be eligible for a recovery. If you choose to take no action, you can remain an absent class member. For more information, click here.

All representation is on a contingency fee basis. Shareholders pay no fees or expenses.