INVESTOR ALERT: Law Offices of Howard G. Smith Announces the Filing of a Securities Class Action on Behalf of Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (APLS) Investors

Law Offices of Howard G. Smith announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed on behalf of investors who purchased Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (“Apellis” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: APLS) common stock between January 29, 2021 and July 28, 2023, inclusive (the “Class Period”). Apellis investors have until October 2, 2023 to file a lead plaintiff motion.

Investors suffering losses on their Apellis investments are encouraged to contact the Law Offices of Howard G. Smith to discuss their legal rights in this class action at 888-638-4847 or by email to howardsmith@howardsmithlaw.com.

On July 15, 2023, the American Society of Retina Specialists (“ASRS”) published a letter regarding its concerns with Apellis’s geographic atrophy treatment, SYFOVRE, highlighting physician reports of cases of eye inflammation in patients, including six instances of occlusive retinal vasculitis, which potentially results in blindness. On this news, Apellis’s stock price fell $32.04, or 37.9%, to close at $54.46 per share on July 17, 2023, thereby injuring investors.

On July 17, 2023, after the market closed, Apellis issued a statement addressing the concerns and acknowledging that “[t]he Company is continuing to conduct a thorough investigation of each of the events, working closely with the [ASRS] and several external specialists.” On this news, Apellis’s stock price fell $12.46, or 23.6%, to close at $40.00 per share on July 18, 2023.

On July 20, 2023, Wedbush downgraded Apellis’s price target by more than 50%, from $86.00 per share to $40.00 per share. On this news, Apellis’s stock price fell $6.25, or 15.4%, to close at $34.24 per share on July 20, 2023.

Then, on July 29, 2023, Apellis disclosed a seventh occurrence of retinal vasculitis caused by its SYFOVRE treatment, and further stated that it was evaluating a potential eighth reported event of retinal vasculitis. On this news, Apellis’s stock price fell $6.27, or 19.6%, to close at $25.75 per share on July 31, 2023, thereby injuring investors further.

The complaint filed in this class action alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and/or misleading statements, as well as failed to disclose material adverse facts about the Company’s business, operations, and prospects. Specifically, Defendants failed to disclose to investors that: (1) the design of SYFOVRE’s clinical trials was insufficient to identify incidents of retinal vasculitis in patients receiving SYFOVRE injections; (2) as a result, the commercial adoption of SYFOVRE was subject to significant, unknown risk factors; and (3) as a result, Defendants’ positive statements about the Company’s business, operations, and prospects were materially misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis at all relevant times.

If you purchased Apellis common stock, have information or would like to learn more about these claims, or have any questions concerning this announcement or your rights or interests with respect to these matters, please contact Howard G. Smith, Esquire, of Law Offices of Howard G. Smith, 3070 Bristol Pike, Suite 112, Bensalem, Pennsylvania 19020, by telephone at (215) 638-4847, toll-free at (888) 638-4847, or by email to howardsmith@howardsmithlaw.com, or visit our website at www.howardsmithlaw.com.

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