Palo Alto – February 26, 2024 –Cooley secured a strong win on behalf of BioMarin Pharmaceutical, a global biotechnology company, before the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. The win affirmed a 2023 dismissal of a putative class action alleging violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Lawyers Patrick Gibbs, John Dwyer, Brett De Jarnette, Samantha Kirby and Amie Simmons led the Cooley team representing BioMarin.
In 2021, a lawsuit was filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of California alleging that BioMarin made false or misleading statements regarding one of its gene therapy candidates. In 2023, US Senior District Court Judge Maxine Chesney issued an order dismissing all claims, holding that the plaintiffs did not adequately plead that any of BioMarin's public statements were false or misleading.
The Ninth Circuit recently agreed with Judge Chesney, holding that the plaintiffs failed to state a securities fraud claim. The court concluded that the plaintiffs' allegations "depend on a specific chronology of events," but the plaintiffs "d[id] not allege sufficient, particularized facts to support that proffered chronology."
The successful appellate outcome earned the Cooley team a shout out as part of The American Lawyer's Litigation Daily Litigator of the Week Runners-Up and Shout Outs list.