NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / April 29, 2022 / Bernstein Liebhard LLP, a nationally acclaimed investor rights law firm, reminds investors of the deadline to file a lead plaintiff motion in a securities class action lawsuit that has been filed on behalf of investors who purchased or acquired the securities of AbbVie Inc. (“AbbVie” or the “Company”) (NYSE:ABBV) between April 30, 2021 and August 31, 2021, inclusive (the “Class Period”). The lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois and alleges violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
Did you lose money on investments in AbbVie? If so, please visit AbbVie Inc. Shareholder Class Action Lawsuit or contact Peter Allocco at (212) 951-2030 or [email protected] to discuss your rights.
AbbVie is one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies. The Company’s biggest drug, Humira (an anti-inflammatory drug used to treat illnesses such as Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, rheumatoid arthritis (“RA”)) was, in 2021 (aside from COVID-19 vaccines), the world’s best-selling prescription drug, with net revenue of more than $20 billion in 2021. Humira accounts for more than a third of AbbVie’s net revenue.
While patents have protected Humira’s blockbuster profits for years, biosimilar drugs will be permitted to enter the market and compete directly with Humira beginning in 2023. Accordingly, AbbVie’s future revenue and earnings depend in large part on the Company’s ability to develop new sources of revenue to offset reduced Humira sales. Rinvoq, an anti-inflammatory drug manufactured by AbbVie and used to treat RA and other diseases by inhibiting Janus kinase (“JAK”) enzymes, was touted as one such drug.
Rinvoq was initially approved in the United States to treat only moderate to severe RA. However, AbbVie was actively pursuing additional treatment indications and, in 2020, asked the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (the “FDA”) to approve Rinvoq for the treatment of several other diseases, including psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, and atopic dermatitis.
Rinvoq uses the same mechanism of action as other JAK inhibitor drugs, including Xeljanz and Xeljanz XR (collectively, “Xeljanz”), which are manufactured by Pfizer Inc. (“Pfizer”), and Olumiant, manufactured by Eli Lilly and Company (“Eli Lilly”). Beginning in February 2019, the FDA repeatedly warned the public that the Xeljanz safety trial indicated that certain dosages of Xeljanz were associated with elevated risks of serious heart-related issues, cancer, and other adverse events.
Notwithstanding the pharmacological similarities between Rinvoq and Xeljanz, during the Class Period, Defendants conditioned investors to view Rinvoq as far safer than Xeljanz while downplaying the likelihood that the FDA would take regulatory action against Rinvoq as a result of Xeljanz’s problematic safety profile.
On June 25, 2021, AbbVie revealed that contrary to a previous announcement, the FDA would not complete its review of several of the expanded treatment indications for Rinvoq by the end of June due to its ongoing evaluation of safety concerns associated with Xeljanz. On this news, the price of AbbVie common stock declined $1.76 per share, or approximately 1.5%, from a close of $114.74 per share on June 24, 2021, to close at $112.98 per share on June 25, 2021.
Then, on September 1, 2021, the FDA announced that final results from the Xeljanz safety trial established an increased risk of serious adverse events, even with low doses of Xeljanz. As a result, the FDA determined that it would require new and updated warnings for Xeljanz and Rinvoq because Rinvoq “share[s] similar mechanisms of action with Xeljanz” and “may have similar risks as seen in the Xeljanz safety trial.” The FDA also indicated that it would further limit approved indications for Rinvoq as a result of these safety concerns.
On this news, the price of AbbVie common stock declined more than 7% to close at $112.27 per share on September 1, 2021.
If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than June 6, 2022. A lead plaintiff is a representative party acting on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. Your ability to share in any recovery doesn’t require that you serve as lead plaintiff. If you choose to take no action, you may remain an absent class member.
If you purchased ABBV securities, and/or would like to discuss your legal rights and options please visit AbbVie Inc. Shareholder Class Action Lawsuit or contact Peter Allocco at (212) 951-2030 or [email protected].
Since 1993, Bernstein Liebhard LLP has recovered over $3.5 billion for its clients. In addition to representing individual investors, the Firm has been retained by some of the largest public and private pension funds in the country to monitor their assets and pursue litigation on their behalf. As a result of its success litigating hundreds of lawsuits and class actions, the Firm has been named to The National Law Journal’s “Plaintiffs’ Hot List” thirteen times and listed in The Legal 500 for ten consecutive years.
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CONTACT:
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Bernstein Liebhard LLP
https://www.bernlieb.com
(212) 951-2030
[email protected]
SOURCE: Bernstein Liebhard LLP
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