SAN DIEGO & CAMBRIDGE, England--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Shareholder rights law firm Robbins Arroyo LLP announces that a class action complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The complaint alleges that officers and directors of GW Pharmaceuticals plc (NASDAQGM: GWPH) violated the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 between December 4, 2014 and January 8, 2016, by making materially false and misleading statements about GW Pharmaceuticals' business prospects. GW Pharmaceuticals plc, a biopharmaceutical company, together with its subsidiaries, engages in discovering, developing, and commercializing cannabinoid prescription medicines.
View this information on the law firm's Shareholder Rights Blog: www.robbinsarroyo.com/shareholders-rights-blog/gw-pharmaceuticals-plc
GW Pharmaceuticals Accused of Failing to Implement Adequate Internal Controls
According to the complaint, GW Pharmaceuticals filed a Form 20-F and several Forms 6-K with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in 2014 and 2015, attesting to the accuracy of the financial information and affirming that any material changes to the company's internal controls over financial reporting were disclosed. However, the complaint alleges these statements were false because the company failed to disclose that it lacked effective internal financial controls, as well as effective controls over completeness and valuation of clinical trial accruals.
On December 7, 2015, GW Pharmaceuticals disclosed in its annual report for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2015, that its internal financial controls were not effective as of September 30, 2015. The company stated that if the statements were prepared improperly, it would be required to restate its financial statements, which could result in a loss of investor confidence and a decline in the price of its American Depository Shares. The Form further stated that it lacked sufficient controls to ensure completeness of clinical trial accruals in connection with contractual progress payment liabilities. Then, on January 10, 2016, an article in The Sunday Times disclosed that GW Pharmaceuticals' management had determined that it lacked effective controls over the completeness and valuation of clinical trial accruals. On this news, GW Pharmaceuticals stock fell $3.55 per share, or nearly 6%, to close at $56.31 per share on January 11, 2016.
GW Pharmaceuticals Shareholders Have Legal Options
Concerned shareholders who would like more information about their rights and potential remedies can contact attorney Darnell R. Donahue at (800) 350-6003, DDonahue@robbinsarroyo.com, or via the shareholder information form on the firm's website.
Robbins Arroyo LLP is a nationally recognized leader in shareholder rights law. The firm represents individual and institutional investors in shareholder derivative and securities class action lawsuits, and has helped its clients realize more than $1 billion of value for themselves and the companies in which they have invested.
Attorney Advertising. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
