Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed in Western District of Washington on behalf of purchasers of Athira Pharma, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATHA) securities between September 18, 2020 and June 17, 2021, inclusive (the “Class Period”). The case is captioned Wang v. Athira Pharma, Inc., No. 21-cv-00861, and charges Athira Pharma and its CEO with violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff of the Athira Pharma class action lawsuit or have questions concerning your rights regarding the Athira Pharma class action lawsuit, please provide your information here or contact counsel, J.C. Sanchez of Robbins Geller, at 800/449-4900 or 619/231-1058 or via e-mail at jsanchez@rgrdlaw.com. Lead plaintiff motions for the Athira Pharma class action lawsuit must be filed with the court no later than August 24, 2021.

CASE ALLEGATIONS: Athira Pharma is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing small molecules to restore neuronal health and stop neurodegeneration for those suffering from devastating neurological diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease.

The Athira Pharma class action lawsuit alleges that, throughout the Class Period, defendants made false and misleading statements and failed to disclose that: (1) the research conducted by Athira Pharma’s President and CEO, defendant Leen Kawas, which formed the foundation for Athira Pharma’s product candidates and intellectual property, was tainted by Kawas’s scientific misconduct, including the manipulation of key data; and (2) as a result, defendants’ positive statements about Athira Pharma’s business, operations, and prospects were materially misleading and omitted material facts necessary to make the statements made not misleading.

On June 17, 2021, Athira Pharma issued a press release announcing that Athira Pharma’s Board of Directors had placed Kawas on temporary leave pending a review of actions stemming from doctoral research Kawas conducted while at Washington State University. An article published in STAT News later that day revealed that the investigation of Kawas related to allegations that she altered images in four separate papers relating to her research on hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), a protein with the potential to treat Alzheimer’s disease and other neurological disorders. The article noted that although Athira Pharma “has since moved on to a different molecule than the one Kawas was working on, it still aims to target HGF. And so Kawas’s doctoral work laid the biological groundwork that Athira continues to use in their approach to treating Alzheimer’s.” On this news, Athira Pharma’s stock price fell by nearly 39%, damaging investors.

THE LEAD PLAINTIFF PROCESS: The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 permits any investor who purchased Athira Pharma securities during the Class Period to seek appointment as lead plaintiff in the Athira Pharma class action lawsuit. A lead plaintiff is generally the movant with the greatest financial interest in the relief sought by the putative class who is also typical and adequate of the putative class. A lead plaintiff acts on behalf of all other class members in directing the Athira Pharma class action lawsuit. The lead plaintiff can select a law firm of its choice to litigate the Athira Pharma class action lawsuit. An investor’s ability to share in any potential future recovery of the Athira Pharma class action lawsuit is not dependent upon serving as lead plaintiff.

ABOUT ROBBINS GELLER RUDMAN & DOWD LLP: With 200 lawyers in 9 offices nationwide, Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP is the largest U.S. law firm representing investors in securities class actions. Robbins Geller attorneys have obtained many of the largest shareholder recoveries in history, including the largest securities class action recovery ever – $7.2 billion – in In re Enron Corp. Sec. Litig. The 2020 ISS Securities Class Action Services Top 50 Report ranked Robbins Geller first for recovering $1.6 billion for investors last year, more than double the amount recovered by any other securities plaintiffs’ firm. Please visit http://www.rgrdlaw.com for more information.

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