Phi Finney McDonald along with William Roberts Lawyers act for the Joint Applicants in a class action in the Federal Court of Australia against Mesoblast Limited (ASX: MSB; NASDAQ: MESO; OTC: MEOBF) (Mesoblast) on behalf of investors who, during the period from 22 February 2018 until the close of trading on 17 December 2020 (inclusive) (Claim Period), acquired:
- An interest in fully paid ordinary shares in Mesoblast listed on the ASX as “MSB”;
- An interest in certain American Depository Receipts traded on the NASDAQ exchange under the symbol “MESO”;
- An interest in securities traded over the counter in the United States with the symbol “MEOBF”; and/or
- Long exposure to MSB Shares by entering into equity swap confirmations in respect of MSB Shares,
(Mesoblast Securities).
The class action is jointly funded by Omni Bridgeway and ICP Funding Pty Ltd along with Investor Claim Partner Pty Ltd (ICP) (Funders).
Approved Settlement
A settlement of the Mesoblast Class Action was reached between the parties that provided for the payment of AUD$26.5 million (Settlement Sum), inclusive of legal fees, expenses, disbursements, any funding commission and interest, to resolve the claims of all Group Members, subject to the approval of the Court (Settlement).
Key information regarding the Settlement was made available in the Notice of Proposed Settlement, which was approved by the Court and issued to all Group Members on 13 September 2024. The Court-ordered deadline to object to or submit a request to participate in the Settlement was 11 October 2024.
At the hearing on 13 December 2024, the Honourable Justice Beach approved the Settlement and appointed William Roberts Lawyers as the administrator of the Settlement Fund (Administrator). A copy of the Court’s orders is available here.
The Administrator is responsible for ensuring the proper distribution of the Settlement Fund to the registered Group Members, Funders, lawyers, and relevant third parties.
Please contact William Roberts Lawyers at msbclassaction@williamroberts.com.au should you require any further information regarding the Settlement
Background
On 19 October 2022, the Court ordered by consent that the class action commenced by Phi Finney McDonald against Mesoblast (Oil Surveillance Australia Pty Ltd ATF D.A Lynch Superfund v Mesoblast Limited) be consolidated with the class action commenced by William Roberts Lawyers against Mesoblast. The consolidated class action is now known as Paul Tibor Horsky and Oil Surveillance Australia Pty Ltd ATF D.A Lynch Superfund v Mesoblast Limited (ACN 109 431 870) (VID268/2022).
The consolidated class action is jointly funded by the Funders, and Phi Finney McDonald and William Roberts Lawyers are the joint lawyers on the record.
The consolidated class action arises in relation to Mesoblast’s statements to the market regarding the potential application of its Remestemcel-L (R-L) product for:
- children with steroid refractory acute Graft versus Host Disease (SR-aGVHD); and
- patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome caused by COVID-19 (COVID-19 ARDS).
On 11 August 2020, following the US Food and Drug Admission’s (FDA) release of information for the FDA’s Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee meeting to discuss the use of R-L for SR-aGVHD, Mesoblast’s share price fell by approximately 31%.
On 02 October 2020, following the announcement by Mesoblast that it had received a complete response letter from the FDA requiring Mesoblast to perform further work in relation to establishing the efficacy of R-L for the treatment of SR-aGVHD before it would grant a marketing licence, Mesoblast’s share price fell by approximately 37%.
On 18 December 2020, following the announcement that the Data Safety Monitoring Board had advised that the Phase 3 COVID-19 ARDS trial for the use of R-L was not likely to meet its mortality reduction endpoint, Mesoblast’s share price fell by approximately 36%.
Allegations
The consolidated class action alleges that during the Claim Period, Mesoblast:
- breached its continuous disclosure obligations under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth); and
- engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct in contravention of the Corporations Act, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission Act 2001 (Cth) and the Australian Consumer Law,
by failing to disclose information regarding the application of Remestemcel-L for the treatment of:
- paediatric patients suffering from steroid-refractory acute graft versus host disease; and
- patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome caused by the COVID-19 virus.
The consolidated class action alleges that the price of Mesoblast Securities was artificially inflated during the Claim Period by the above conduct and that investors suffered loss and damage by reason of the acquisition of Mesoblast Securities at those inflated prices.
Key Documents