HAGENS BERMAN, NATIONAL ATTORNEYS, Reminds Athira Pharma (ATHA) Investors of Securities Class Action and Urges Investors with Losses to Contact Firm’s Attorneys

SAN FRANCISCO, July 26, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hagens Berman urges Athira Pharma, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATHA) investors with significant losses to submit your losses now. A securities class action has been filed and certain investors may have valuable claims.

Athira Pharma, Inc. (ATHA) Securities Class Action:

Since going public in September 2020, Athira and senior management have repeatedly emphasized the importance of CEO Leen Kawas’ doctoral research to the company’s product candidates intended to treat Alzheimer’s.

According to the lawsuit, Defendants failed to disclose to investors that research conducted by Kawas, which formed the foundation for Athira’s product candidates and intellectual property, was tainted by Kawas’ scientific misconduct, including manipulation of key data.

Investors began to learn the truth, according to the complaint, after the market closed on June 17, 2021, when the company announced its board placed Kawas on temporary leave pending its review of Kawas’ published research while at Washington State University. The same day, STAT News reported Athira’s decision was based on allegations of altered images in four separate papers on which Kawas was the lead author. STAT reported Washington State University is also conducting a review and “[t]he allegedly altered images call into question the validity of entire studies, said several Alzheimer’s experts.”

In addition, Barron’s reported Stifel analyst Paul Matteis said “[w]e really don’t know how to process this development” and “[t]he scientific hypothesis behind Athira came out of the work [that] Dr. Kawas did in graduate school so there is risk here that whatever comes out of this investigation could have clear negative implications for how we/investors view the asset, and/or management credibility.”

This news sent the price of Athira shares crashing lower.

“We’re focused on investors’ losses and proving defendants knew Kawas’ doctoral research did not support the company’s lead product candidate ATH-1017,” said Reed Kathrein, the Hagens Berman partner leading the investigation.

If you are a Athira investor and have significant losses, or have knowledge that may assist the firm’s investigation, click here to discuss your legal rights with Hagens Berman.

Whistleblowers: Persons with non-public information regarding Athira should consider their options to help in the investigation or take advantage of the SEC Whistleblower program. Under the new program, whistleblowers who provide original information may receive rewards totaling up to 30 percent of any successful recovery made by the SEC. For more information, call Reed Kathrein at 844-916-0895 or email [email protected].

About Hagens Berman
Hagens Berman is a national law firm with eight offices in eight cities around the country and over eighty attorneys. The firm represents investors, whistleblowers, workers and consumers in complex litigation. More about the firm and its successes is located at hbsslaw.com. For the latest news visit our newsroom or follow us on Twitter at @classactionlaw.

Contact:
Reed Kathrein, 844-916-0895