A federal judge dismissed a shareholders' class-action complaint that accused GlaxoSmithKline of violating securities laws by withholding or manipulating information about its heart drug Avandia. U.S. District Judge Louis Stanton dismissed for failure to state a claim, without leave to replead.
After discussing the studies and meta-analyses (studies of studies) of the drug, Judge Stanton bought Glaxo's arguments: "Defendants argue that the Court should dismiss the amended complaint because plaintiffs have not established that defendants have made a material misrepresentation or omission, plaintiffs do not sufficiently plead scienter, and the statements plaintiffs identify as false and misleading are forward-looking statements and thus are not actionable."
After discussing the studies and meta-analyses (studies of studies) of the drug, Judge Stanton bought Glaxo's arguments: "Defendants argue that the Court should dismiss the amended complaint because plaintiffs have not established that defendants have made a material misrepresentation or omission, plaintiffs do not sufficiently plead scienter, and the statements plaintiffs identify as false and misleading are forward-looking statements and thus are not actionable."