NEW YORK, Nov. 30, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pomerantz LLP announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed against certain officers of Evolus, Inc. (“Evolus” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: EOLS). The class action, filed in United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, and docketed under 20-cv-09053, is on behalf of a class consisting of all persons other than Defendants who purchased or otherwise, acquired Evolus securities between February 1, 2019 and July 6, 2020, both dates inclusive (the “Class Period”), seeking to recover damages caused by Defendants’ violation of the federal securities laws and to pursue remedies under Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”) and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder, against the Company and certain of its top officials.
If you are a shareholder who purchased Evolus securities during the class period, you have until December 15, 2020, to ask the Court to appoint you as Lead Plaintiff for the class. A copy of the Complaint can be obtained at www.pomerantzlaw.com . To discuss this action, contact Robert S. Willoughby at newaction@pomlaw.com or 888.476.6529 (or 888.4-POMLAW), toll-free, Ext. 7980. Those who inquire by e-mail are encouraged to include their mailing address, telephone number, and the number of shares purchased.
[Click here for information about joining the class action]
Evolus is a Delaware corporation headquartered in Newport Beach, California. The Company operates as a medical aesthetics company, and develops, produces, and markets clinical neurotoxins for the treatment of aesthetic concerns. Evolus’ sole product is Jeuveau™, which is a purified botulinum toxin indicated for the temporary improvement in the appearance of moderate to severe frown lines in adults. As such, Evolus directly competes with Botox®, which is manufactured by Allergan plc and Allergan Inc. (“Allergan”) and distributed by Medytox Inc. (“Medytox”). Botox® has been the gold standard of the industry since its approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) more than two decades ago.
Beginning in February 2019, Evolus embarked on a public campaign to hype the market right before the commercial launch of its sole leading product Jeuveau™. To secure an aggressive growth and rapid influx of revenue, Defendants disseminated dozens of public statements in which they promoted Jeuveau™ as a proprietary formulation of the botulinum toxic type A complex, purportedly developed by Korean bioengineering company Daewoong through years of clinical research and millions of dollars’ worth of investment in research and development. Among other things, Evolus promised investors that it would attain the number two U.S. market position within twenty-four months of launch.
The complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and/or misleading because they misrepresented and failed to disclose the following adverse facts pertaining to the Company’s business, operations, and prospects, which were known to Defendants or recklessly disregarded by them. Specifically, Defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) the real source of botulinum toxin bacterial strain as well as the manufacturing processes used to develop Jeuveau™ originated with and were misappropriated from Medytox; (ii) sufficient evidentiary support existed for the allegations that Evolus misappropriated certain trade secrets relating to the botulin toxin strain and the manufacturing processes for the development of Jeuveau™; (iii) as a result, Evolus faced a real threat of regulatory and/or court action, prohibiting the import, marketing, and sale of Jeuveau™; which in turn (iv) seriously threatened Evolus’ ability to commercialize Jeuveau™ in the U.S. and generate revenue; and (v) any revenues generated from the sale of Jeuveau™ were based on Evolus’ unlawful activities, including the misappropriation of trade secrets and secret manufacturing processes belonging to Allergan and Medytox.
The investing public learned the truth about Jeuveau™ on July 6, 2020, when the U.S. International Trade Commission (“ITC”) issued its Initial Final Determination in a case brought by Allergan and Medytox against Evolus, alleging that Evolus stole certain trade secrets to develop Jeuveau™. Coming as a great surprise to unsuspecting investors, the ITC Judge found that Evolus misappropriated the botulinum toxin strain as well as the manufacturing processes that led to its development and manufacture. Additionally, the ITC Judge recommended a ten-year-long ban on Evolus’ ability to import Jeuveau™ into the U.S. and a ten-year-long cease-and-desist order preventing Evolus from selling Jeuveau™ in the U.S.
This news caused a precipitous and immediate decline in the price of Evolus shares, which fell 37% over the course of two trading days, to close at $3.35 per share on July 8, 2020, on unusually high trading volume. Following the news of the ITC’s Initial Final Determination and the subsequent price drop of Evolus’ common shares, several securities analysts downgraded Evolus’ rating and significantly lowered the Company’s price target.
The Pomerantz Firm, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Paris is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, the Pomerantz Firm pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 80 years later, the Pomerantz Firm continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomerantzlaw.com .
CONTACT:
Robert S. Willoughby
Pomerantz LLP
rswilloughby@pomlaw.com
888-476-6529 ext. 7980
