Ocugen's stock climbs as it beats back investor claims on COVID vaccine

By Eleanor Laise

Appeals court upholds ruling against Ocugen shareholders

Ocugen Inc. shares (OCGN) climbed 9% early Friday after a federal appeals court on Thursday upheld a lower court's ruling against shareholders who alleged the biotech company misled investors about its COVID-19 vaccine.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit tossed out the claims of shareholders who alleged that Ocugen's statements about its ability to get U.S. Food and Drug Administration emergency-use authorization for its COVID vaccine, Covaxin, were false and misleading.

The investors failed to identify any point in the emergency-use authorization process where Ocugen did not actually engage with the FDA as it had announced, the appeals court said in its ruling. Relevant details on the FDA's guidance for the emergency-use process and Ocugen's efforts were "readily available to any reasonable investor," the court said.

Malvern, Penn.-based Ocugen announced in late 2020 that it planned to develop the COVID vaccine candidate in partnership with Indian biotech company Bharat Biotech. Ocugen said in early 2021 that it was working toward emergency-use authorization for Covaxin, but in June of that year it said it was dropping that effort on the recommendation of the FDA and would instead aim for full regulatory approval. The news hit the stock hard, as it would mean a potentially much longer approval process.

Ocugen's pipeline now includes experimental treatments for eye diseases and knee cartilage damage as well as inhaled vaccines for COVID and flu.

Ocugen shares have gained 133% in the year to date, while the S&P 500 SPX is up 9.9%.

-Eleanor Laise

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03-22-24 0931ET

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