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The law firm of Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP announces that purchasers or acquirers of Abbott Laboratories common stock between February 19, 2021 to June 8, 2022, both dates inclusive (the “Class Period”) have until October 31, 2022 to seek appointment as lead plaintiff in Pembroke Pines Firefighters & Police Officers Pension Fund v. Abbott Laboratories, No. 22-cv-04661 (N.D. Ill.). The Abbott Laboratories class action lawsuit charges Abbott Laboratories and certain of its top executives with violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
You can also contact attorney J.C. Sanchez of Robbins Geller by calling 800/449-4900 or via e-mail at jsanchez@rgrdlaw.com.
CASE ALLEGATIONS: Abbott Laboratories manufactures various forms of infant formula, including formula sold under the brand names Similac, Alimentum, and EleCare. Prior to February 2022, Abbott Laboratories had produced 40% of the United States’ infant formula. Of that amount, nearly half was produced in its manufacturing facility in Sturgis, Michigan.
The Abbott Laboratories class action lawsuit alleges that defendants put profitability ahead of children’s safety. During the Class Period, Abbott Laboratories engaged in a scheme to maximize revenues and inflate its stock price while disregarding and then concealing lapses in safety protocols that ultimately were linked to serious infant illnesses and even deaths.
On February 17, 2022, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) announced that it was investigating four consumer complaints of infant illness related to powdered infant formula produced by Abbott Laboratories in Sturgis. The FDA stated that it had initiated an onsite inspection at the facility, and to date had found several positive contamination results from environmental samples for a bacteria, Cronobacter sakazakii (“Cronobacter”), linked to infant illnesses and death. On the same day, Abbott Laboratories issued a recall of certain infant formula products, including the popular brands Similac, Alimentum and EleCare, all manufactured in Sturgis. On this news, the price of Abbott Laboratories common stock declined by more than 3%.
Then, on March 22, 2022, the FDA released reports from its three inspections of the Sturgis facility conducted in September 2019, September 2021, and, most recently, between January 31, 2022 and March 18, 2022. The FDA stated that these reports “do not constitute final FDA determinations” of specific violations, but highlighted that during its most recent inspection that (a) Abbott failed to establish process controls “designed to ensure that infant formula does not become adulterated due to the presence of microorganisms in the formula or in the processing environment” and (b) Abbott failed to “ensure that all surfaces that contacted infant formula were maintained to protect infant formula from being contaminated by any source.” On this news, Abbott Laboratories’ stock price fell by an additional 4%.
On April 28, 2022, the FDA released a redacted copy of a whistleblower complaint sent to the FDA in October 2021, revealing that the issues disclosed in February and March 2022 were actually known to Abbott Laboratories’ management far earlier. The whistleblower complaint identified numerous serious examples of misconduct by Abbott Laboratories management at Sturgis, including the falsification of testing records, the release of untested infant formula to the market, efforts to mislead the FDA during its 2019 inspection audit, the continuation of known deficient testing procedures, and an inability to trace products to properly implement recalls of affected pallets of formula. On this news, Abbott Laboratories’ stock price fell nearly 4%.
Finally, on June 8, 2022, investors learned that Abbott Laboratories was aware of the whistleblower’s formal allegations in early 2021, when it was reported that the FDA whistleblower had filed a complaint in February 2021 with the U.S. Labor Department’s Occupational Safety & Health Administration (“OSHA”), and that OSHA delivered that complaint to Abbott Laboratories and the FDA during the same month. On this news, Abbott Laboratories’ stock price fell by an additional 3.5%, further damaging investors.
THE LEAD PLAINTIFF PROCESS: The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 permits any investor who purchased or acquired Abbott Laboratories securities during the Class Period to seek appointment as lead plaintiff. A lead plaintiff is generally the movant with the greatest financial interest in the relief sought by the putative class who is also typical and adequate of the putative class. A lead plaintiff acts on behalf of all other class members in directing the Abbott Laboratories class action lawsuit. The lead plaintiff can select a law firm of its choice to litigate the Abbott Laboratories class action lawsuit. An investor’s ability to share in any potential future recovery is not dependent upon serving as lead plaintiff of the Abbott Laboratories class action lawsuit.
ABOUT ROBBINS GELLER: Robbins Geller is one of the world’s leading complex class action firms representing plaintiffs in securities fraud cases. The Firm is ranked #1 on the 2021 ISS Securities Class Action Services Top 50 Report for recovering nearly $2 billion for investors last year alone – more than triple the amount recovered by any other plaintiffs’ firm. With 200 lawyers in 9 offices, Robbins Geller is one of the largest plaintiffs’ firms in the world and the Firm’s attorneys have obtained many of the largest securities class action recoveries in history, including the largest securities class action recovery ever – $7.2 billion – in In re Enron Corp. Sec. Litig. Please visit the following page for more information:
Contact:
Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP
655 W. Broadway, Suite 1900, San Diego, CA 92101
J.C. Sanchez, 800-449-4900
jsanchez@rgrdlaw.com
