The Complaint alleges that, throughout the Class Period, defendants made materially false and misleading statements regarding the Company’s business, operations, and compliance policies. Specifically, defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that:
- the Janssen Collaboration Agreement was less sustainable than Fate had represented to investors;
- accordingly, certain the clinical programs, milestone payments, and royalty payments associated with the Janssen Collaboration Agreement could not be relied upon as future revenue sources;
- as a result, Fate had overstated the impact of the Janssen Collaboration Agreement’s on Fate’s long-term clinical and commercial profitability; and
- as a result, the Company’s public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.
On January 5, 2023, after the market closed, Fate issued a press release announcing that it had terminated the Collaboration Agreement for cell-based cancer immunotherapies with Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen, and that all collaboration activities would be wound down in the first quarter of 2023.
On this news, Fate’s stock price fell $6.76, or 61.5%, to close at $4.24 per share on January 6, 2023, thereby injuring investors.