NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / February 13, 2021 / Pomerantz LLP is investigating claims on behalf of investors of Penumbra, Inc. ("Penumbra" or the "Company") (NYSE:PEN). Such investors are advised to contact Robert S. Willoughby at [email protected] or 888-476-6529, ext. 7980.
The investigation concerns whether Penumbra and certain of its officers and/or directors have engaged in securities fraud or other unlawful business practices.
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On September 14, 2020, the Foundation for Financial Journalism (the "FFJ") published an article raising serious questions about the safety profile of the Company's Jet 7 Xtra Flex catheter, a flagship product. The FFJ noted that since the product's introduction in mid-2019, a U.S. Food and Drug Administration database had recorded 12 deaths associated with the product's use. On this news, Penumbra's stock price fell by nearly 3%, from $199.43 per share on September 13, 2020 to $193.66 per share on September 14, 2020, a decline of $5.77 per share.
On November 9, 2020, Quintessential Capital Management ("QCM") released a presentation, entitled "Penumbra and Its Killer Catheter," detailing injuries and deaths resulting from Jet 7 Xtra Flex malfunctions, and highlighting that Penumbra had not issued any notice to U.S. healthcare providers concerning the device's safety issues until more than a month after the Company's Japanese distributor sent out a warning, and more than nine months after the first patient died from the product's malfunction. QCM accused Penumbra of a "seemingly blatant disregard for patients' lives" and essentially "blaming doctors" for the devices' design defects. On November 23, 2020, the Journal of NeuroInterventional Surgery published an article presenting the cases of three patients who suffered as a result of Jet 7 Xtra Flex device malfunctions, including two fatalities. As news of the journal article circulated over the following two days, Penumbra's stock price fell from $254.71 on November 23, 2020 to $224.12 on November 25, 2020, a decline of about 12%.
On December 8, 2020, QCM issued another report reiterating its prior assertions and disclosing additional facts about the Jet 7 Xtra Flex's safety issues. Among other things, QCM's second report questioned the validity and independence of the scientific research supporting the Jet 7 Xtra Flex's safety, and accused the Company of using a fake author to publish studies regarding the purported safety and efficacy of its products. In response, Penumbra's stock price fell by 9%, from $224.02 per share on December 7, 2020 to $204.07 per share on December 8, 2020, a decline of $19.95 per share.
Finally, on December 15, 2020, after the market closed, the Company issued a press release announcing that it was issuing an "urgent" recall of the Jet 7 Xtra Flex because the catheter "may become susceptible to distal tip damage during use" which could lead to injury or death. On a conference call held the same day, the Company's CEO acknowledged that the product's design "ma[de] the catheter susceptible to failure in certain scenarios" and that the Company's "steps to ensure the safe use of the product . . . were not able to fully address the risks." In response, Penumbra's stock price fell by 7%, from $188.82 per share on December 15, 2020 to $174.98 per share on December 16, 2020, a decline of $13.84 per share.
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.
SOURCE: Pomerantz LLP