According to the Complaint, Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC is a United Kingdom-based global consumer goods company. This lawsuit was filed against Reckitt and five individual Defendants.

In 2017, Reckitt acquired Mead Johnson Nutrition for $19.7 billion, which effectively provided the Company with its current Nutrition segment. Reckitt’s Nutrition segment includes, among others, its infant and child nutrition businesses, its adult nutrition, and its range of vitamins, minerals, and supplements. Brands under Reckitt’s Nutrition segment include infant and baby formulas such as Enfamil.

The Complaint alleges that, during the Class Period, Defendants made misleading statements and omissions regarding the Company’s business, financial condition, and prospects. Specifically, Defendants failed to warn investors and consumers: (1) that preterm infants were at an increased risk of developing NEC, a deadly intestinal disease characterized by inflammation and injury of the gut wall barrier that may advance to necrosis and perforation of the gut, by consuming Reckitt’s cow’s milk-based formula, Enfamil; (2) of the attendant impact on Reckitt’s sales of Enfamil and Reckitt’s exposure to legal claims; and (3) as a result of the above, Defendants’ positive statements about the Company’s business, operations, and prospects were materially false and misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis at all relevant times.