Judge dismisses AstraZeneca fraud case over Covid vaccine disclosures

From [HERE] A federal judge threw out securities fraud claims against AstraZeneca over statements it made during clinical trials of its Covid-19 vaccine, saying the plaintiffs failed to identify any false information or fraudulent intent to support their case.

“Read generously, the amended complaint does not state a claim because it does not identify any statement made misleading by any alleged omission,” concluded U.S. District Judge J. Paul Oetken in New York. 

The ruling was a loss for lawyers at Robbins Geller and Vanoverbeke Michaud, who hoped to assemble a class action with Monroe County, Mich., as lead plaintiff. 

During Operation Warp Speed, the federal government offered AstraZeneca as much as $1.2 billion for 300 million doses of its experimental vaccine, although the company said it would manufacture the drug at no profit during the epidemic and only hope to make money on the technology later. [MORE]