Cempra Wins Dismissal of Securities Class Action

Skadden secured dismissal of a putative class action alleging securities fraud against firm client Cempra, Inc. (now Melinta Therapeutics Inc.) and certain of its former officers alleging that the defendants intentionally misled investors regarding the FDA approval prospects for solithromycin, a developmental drug. Judge Thomas Schroeder of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina dismissed the complaint on scienter grounds, concluding that “the most compelling inference is that any disparity between the challenged statements and the information disclosed by the FDA appears to reflect a difference of opinion regarding the interpretation of the clinical trial results, rather than a concerted effort to deceive the investing public.”