According to the Complaint, Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. purports to be a “biotechnology company focused on rapidly bringing to market precisely designed DNA medicines to treat, cure and/or protect people from . . . infectious diseases.”

The Complaint alleges that during the Class Period, Inovio made misleading statements about the company’s development of a purported vaccine for the novel coronavirus, artificially inflating the company’s share price and resulting in significant investor losses. Specifically, the Complaint alleges that Defendants capitalized on widespread COVID-19 fears by falsely claiming that Inovio had developed a vaccine for COVID-19. Plaintiffs allege that Inovio’s stock price rose significantly in response to this disclosure, but plummeted when another company exposed Inovio’s misstatements and called for an SEC investigation into the claims.

On June 18, 2020, the Court issued an Order appointing Lead Plaintiff and Counsel. Lead Plaintiff filed a consolidated Complaint on August 3. On September 21, Lead Plaintiff filed an amended consolidated Complaint. Defendants filed a Motion to Dismiss the amended consolidated Complaint on November 5. On February 16, 2021, the Court issued an Order granting in part and denying in part Defendants' Motion to Dismiss.

Lead Plaintiff filed a second amended consolidated Complaint on February 17, 2022.

On August 22, 2022, the parties entered into a Stipulation of Settlement. On August 31, the Court granted preliminary approval of the Settlement. On the same date, the Court issued an Order denying as moot a pending Motion for Class Certification and a Motion to Dismiss the second amended consolidated Complaint.

On January 18, 2023, the Court granted final approval of the Settlement. On February 1, the Court entered Final Judgment, including an award of Attorneys’ Fees and Expenses.