Full Press Release Details
NEW YORK, Feb. 09, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C., a nationally recognized shareholder rights law firm, is investigating potential claims against BioXcel Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: BTAI) on behalf of long-term stockholders following a class action complaint that was filed against BioXcel on July 7, 2023 with a Class Period from December 15, 2021 to June 28, 2023. Our investigation concerns whether the board of directors of BioXcel have breached their fiduciary duties to the company.
On December 15, 2021, the Company announced that it had initiated a program to evaluate BXCL501 for the treatment of acute agitation associated with Alzheimer’s disease. The Company announced that the program consisted of two randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled studies: TRANQUILITY II and TRANQUILITY III. The studies were purportedly designed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of BXCL501 in adults 65 years and older across the range of illness including mild, moderate, and severe dementia in assisted living or residential facilities and nursing homes.
However, on June 29, 2023, before the market opened, BioXcel disclosed that its principal investigator for the Phase 3 TRANQUILITY II clinical trial had failed to “adhere to the informed consent form approved by the Institutional Review Board” for some subjects and failed to maintain adequate case histories for certain patients whose records were reviewed by the Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”). The Company further disclosed that the same principal investigator “may have fabricated” email correspondence purporting to demonstrate that the investigator timely submitted to the Company’s pharmacovigilance safety vendor a report of a serious adverse event (“SAE”) and purporting to show that the vendor had confirmed receipt. BioXcel further disclosed that the fabricated email correspondence was provided to the FDA during an on-site inspection in December 2022. The Company further disclosed that it was in the process of conducting an investigation into protocol adherence and data integrity at the principal investigator’s trial site and was in the process of retaining an independent third party to audit the data collected at the site. The Company also disclosed that the foregoing “may impact the timing of the Company’s development plans for, and prospects for regulatory approval of, BXCL501 for the acute treatment of agitation associated with dementia in patients with probable Alzheimer’s disease.”
On this news, BioXcel’s stock price fell $11.28 per share, or 63.8%, to close at $6.39 per share on June 29, 2023, on unusually heavy trading volume.
The complaint filed in this class action alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and/or misleading statements, as well as failed to disclose material adverse facts about the Company’s business, operations, and prospects. Specifically, Defendants failed to disclose to investors: (1) that the Company lacked adequate internal controls over protocol adherence and data integrity; (2) that, as a result, the Company’s principal investigator failed to adhere to the informed consent form approved by the Institutional Review Board; (3) that the Company’s principal investigator failed to maintain adequate case histories for certain patients whose records were reviewed by the FDA; (4) that the Company’s principal investigator fabricated email correspondence with a pharmacovigilance safety vendor that was then provided to the FDA; (5) that the foregoing would negatively impact the Company’s ability to obtain regulatory approval of BXCL501 for the treatment of agitation associated with dementia in patients with probable Alzheimer’s disease; and (6) that, as a result of the foregoing, Defendants’ positive statements about the Company’s business, operations, and prospects were materially misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis.
If you are a long-term stockholder of BioXcel, have information, would like to learn more about these claims, or have any questions concerning this announcement or your rights or interests with respect to these matters, please contact Brandon Walker or Marion Passmore by email at investigations@bespc.com, by telephone at (212) 355-4648, or by filling out this contact form. There is no cost or obligation to you.
About Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C.:
Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C. is a nationally recognized law firm with offices in New York and California. The firm represents individual and institutional investors in commercial, securities, derivative, and other complex litigation in state and federal courts across the country. For more information about the firm, please visit www.bespc.com. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.
Contact Information:
Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C.
Brandon Walker, Esq.
Marion Passmore, Esq.