Litigation Team Wins Full Dismissal of Securities Fraud Class Action

A multi-office litigation team consisting of Florham Park partner Andrew Joseph, Philadelphia counsel Stephen Stroup, and Philadelphia associate Joshua Link secured the full dismissal of a securities fraud class action complaint, Sapir v. Averback, et al, against Nymox Pharmaceutical Corporation and its founder and Chief Executive Officer, Paul Averback, in the District of New Jersey. 

The lead plaintiff brought claims under §§ 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, alleging that our clients had fraudulently misrepresented the design and conduct of two Phase 3 clinical trials of NX-1207, a drug developed for the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia.  In dismissing the complaint, Judge Jose Linares agreed that lead plaintiff had failed to demonstrate Nymox and Dr. Averback purposely misrepresented the efficacy of the drug during clinical trials, holding, instead, that the competing inference of non-fraudulent conduct was more compelling than an inference of scienter.  The court further expressed “serious doubts” that the lead plaintiff had sufficiently pled other elements of its claims, as required under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act. 

Former Philadelphia partner Scott Coffina also contributed to this successful outcome.