SHAREHOLDER ALERT: Pomerantz Law Firm Reminds Shareholders with Losses on their Investment in TransEnterix, Inc. of Class ...
July 24 2016 - 9:00AM
Pomerantz LLP announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed
against TransEnterix Inc. (“TransEnterix” or the “Company”)
(NYSE:TRXC) and certain of its officers. The class action,
filed in United States District Court, Middle District of North
Carolina, and docketed under 16-cv-599, is on behalf of a class
consisting of all persons or entities who purchased or otherwise
acquired TransEnterix securities between February 10, 2016 and May
10, 2016, inclusive (the “Class Period”). This class action
seeks to recover damages against Defendants for alleged violations
of the federal securities laws under the Securities Exchange Act of
1934 (the “Exchange Act”).
If you are a shareholder who purchased
TransEnterix securities during the Class Period, you have until
August 1, 2016 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 rswilloughby@pomlaw.com or 888.476.6529 (or
888.4-POMLAW), toll free, ext. 9980. Those who inquire by e-mail
are encouraged to include their mailing address, telephone number,
and number of shares purchased.
[Click here to join this class
action]
TransEnterix is a medical device company that
seeks to use flexible instruments and robotics to improve the
outcomes of minimally invasive surgery. The Company developed
and commercialized the SurgiBot System (“SurgiBot”), a single-port,
robotically enhanced laparoscopic surgical platform. The surgical
approach and motions used with the SurgiBot robotic device are
intended to mimic established laparoscopic surgical techniques.
The Complaint alleges that throughout the Class
Period, Defendants made materially false and misleading statements
regarding the Company’s business, operational and compliance
policies. Specifically, Defendants made false and/or misleading
statements and/or failed to disclose that: there were deficiencies
within the Company's 510(k) submission regarding the SurgiBot that
undermined the likelihood that the SurgiBot would receive FDA
clearance, which would leave the Company unable to commercialize
the SurgiBot in 2016 and would impair the Company's ability to
obtain approval for and commercialize its other robotic surgery
platform in the United States. As a result of these false
statements and/or omissions, TransEnterix common stock traded at
artificially inflated prices during the Class Period, reaching as
high as $5.69 per share.
April 20, 2016, the Company revealed that the
FDA notified TransEnterix on April 19, 2016 that the FDA had
determined the SurgiBot “does not meet the criteria for substantial
equivalence based upon the data and information submitted by
TransEnterix in its 510(k) submission.”
On this news, the price of TransEnterix stock
declined substantially. After closing at $4.74 on April 20, 2016,
the stock opened at $1.57 per share on April 21, 2016, falling to a
low of $1.28 and ultimately closing at $2.27, a decline of more
than 50%.
On May 10, 2016, the Company further shocked the
market when it announced that it was “reprioritiz[ing] its
near-term regulatory efforts” and shelving the SurgiBot. Instead of
pursuing approval and commercialization for the SurgiBot, which
would require a new 510(k) submission, Defendants revealed the
Company would now “focus [its] resources on the commercialization
of and regulatory clearance for the ALF-X System.” TransEnterix
further stated that it would “delay any potential re-filing for the
SurgiBot System” until after the Company could achieve 510(k)
clearance for its other robotic surgical device, the ALF-X System
(the “ALF-X”), despite the fact that it did not expect to submit a
510(k) for the ALF-X until the fourth quarter of 2016. Defendants
also revealed that TransEnterix had “taken actions to reduce
headcount and investment related to the SurgiBot.”
During a conference call after the market closed
on May 10, 2016, Defendant Joseph P. Slattery stated that
TransEnterix was “reduc[ing] head count investment in SurgiBot
production and development” which “resulted in an annualized
reduction in salaries of approximately $4 million.” The next day,
the Triangle Business Journal reported that TransEnterix “cut ties
with an estimated 50 employees in the United States – about 40
percent of its workforce in this country.”
In response to the negative news revealed after
the market closed on May 10, 2016, the price of TransEnterix stock
dropped again, falling more than 10% to close at $1.84 on May 11,
2016.
The Pomerantz Firm, with offices in New York,
Chicago, Florida, and Los Angeles, 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