ImmunoCellular Therapeutics, Ltd. (IMUC) Misled Shareholders According to a Recently Filed Class Action
Robbins LLP announces that a class action complaint was filed against ImmunoCellular Therapeutics, Ltd. (NYSE MKT: IMUC) in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. The complaint is brought on behalf of all purchasers of ImmunoCellular securities between May 1, 2012 and December 11, 2013, for alleged violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 by ImmunoCellular's officers and directors. ImmunoCellular, a clinical-stage biotechnology company, develops immune-based therapies for the treatment of various cancers. The company's lead product candidate, known as ICT-107, is a vaccine targeting multiple tumor associated antigens for glioblastoma multiforme ("GBM").
ImmunoCellular Accused of Engaging in Stock Promotion Scheme
According to the complaint, beginning in 2011, ImmunoCellular hired Lidingo Holdings, LLC to pump up the value of ImmunoCellular's stock. In order to implement this scheme, Lidingo paid authors to write phony media reports that fawned over ImmunoCellular. However, the articles stated that they were not paid promotions and failed to reveal that ImmunoCellular had complete editorial control of the authors' work. Investors were thus led to believe that ImmunoCellular's clinical studies for ICT-107 were progressing, leading the company's stock price to reach a high of $3.88 per share on June 1, 2012.
On December 11, 2013, ImmunoCellular revealed that the intent-to-treat population which was the primary endpoint for its ICT-107 Phase II study "did not reach statistical significance" because it failed to increase overall survival in patients diagnosed with GBM. On this news, ImmunoCellular's stock declined $1.62 per share, or nearly 60%, to close at $1.10 per share on December 12, 2013. On April 10, 2017, in response to a proceeding initiated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), ImmunoCellular's Chief Executive Officer, Manish Singh, admitted that he participated "in a paid stock-touting scheme" where he edited and approved articles and directed when and where the articles were published. The SEC also announced that it initiated enforcement actions against 27 individuals and entities behind various stock promotion schemes that involved public companies, including ImmunoCellular.
ImmunoCellular Shareholders Have Legal Options
Concerned shareholders who would like more information about their rights and potential remedies can contact attorney Leonid Kandinov at (800) 350-6003, or you can complete the form below and we will contact you directly.