Communication from AB Science following the decision of the Enforcement Committee of the French market regulator (AMF)
PRESS RELEASE
COMMUNICATION FROM AB SCIENCE FOLLOWING THE DECISION OF THE ENFORCEMENT COMMITTEE OF THE FRENCH MARKET REGULATOR (AMF)
Paris, 29 March 2022, 7.30pm CET
AB Science SA (Euronext – FR0010557264 – AB) acknowledges the decision of the Enforcement Committee of the French market regulator (AMF), which has cleared its Chief Executive Officer, Alain Moussy, in a decision concerning possible insider trading.
In its decision of March 24, 2022 published yesterday, the AMF Enforcement Committee ruled that there was no privileged information, neither at the time of the two capital increases carried out by AB Science on March 24 and 27, 2017, nor at the time Alain Moussy sold a part of his shares on March 31, 2017. The AMF Enforcement Committee therefore completely exonerated Alain Moussy and found that AB Science had not failed to comply with its disclosure obligations at the time of these capital increases in March 2017.
The AMF Enforcement Committee nevertheless considered that AB Science should have communicated as early as April 7, 2017 the high probability of a negative opinion from the European Medicine Agency (EMA) on the marketing authorization application for masitinib for the treatment of mastocytosis.
In application of its internal procedures, AB Science had nevertheless put in place a deferral of privileged information from this date of April 7, 2017, considering that the delay in communication was in the interest of the Company and in line with industry practices of not communicating before the final vote of the CHMP, or else withdrawing the registration dossier, which AB Science had no intention to do.
The amount of the penalty of one million euros penalty associated with the deferral of privileged information seems difficult to understand given that AB Science was not considered to have benefited in any way from this allegedly late communication.
Given this difference in assessment concerning a technical point relating to one of the criteria for the deferred communication of privileged information, as well as the amount of penalty, AB Science is evaluating whether to appeal this decision.
About AB Science
Founded in 2001, AB Science is a pharmaceutical company specializing in the research, development and commercialization of protein kinase inhibitors (PKIs), a class of targeted proteins whose action are key in signaling pathways within cells. Our programs target only diseases with high unmet medical needs, often lethal with short term survival or rare or refractory to previous line of treatment.
AB Science has developed a proprietary portfolio of molecules and the Company’s lead compound, masitinib, has already been registered for veterinary medicine and is developed in human medicine in oncology, neurological diseases, inflammatory diseases and viral diseases. The company is headquartered in Paris, France, and listed on Euronext Paris (ticker: AB).
Further information is available on AB Science’s website:
www.ab-science.com.
Forward-looking Statements – AB Science
This press release contains forward-looking statements. These statements are not historical facts. These statements include projections and estimates as well as the assumptions on which they are based, statements based on projects, objectives, intentions and expectations regarding financial results, events, operations, future services, product development and their potential or future performance.
These forward-looking statements can often be identified by the words “expect”, “anticipate”, “believe”, “intend”, “estimate” or “plan” as well as other similar terms. While AB Science believes these forward-looking statements are reasonable, investors are cautioned that these forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict and generally beyond the control of AB Science and which may imply that results and actual events significantly differ from those expressed, induced or anticipated in the forward-looking information and statements. These risks and uncertainties include the uncertainties related to product development of the Company which may not be successful or to the marketing authorizations granted by competent authorities or, more generally, any factors that may affect marketing capacity of the products developed by AB Science, as well as those developed or identified in the public documents published by AB Science. AB Science disclaims any obligation or undertaking to update the forward-looking information and statements, subject to the applicable regulations, in particular articles 223-1 et seq. of the AMF General Regulations.
For additional information, please contact:
AB Science
Financial Communication & Media Relations
investors@ab-science.com
Media Relations – USA
RooneyPartners
Kate Barrette
kbarrette@rooneypartners.com
+1 212 223 0561
Media Relations – France
NewCap
Arthur Rouillé
arouille@newcap.fr
+33 (0)1 44 71 00 15
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