b'Sanchez v. Decision Diagnostics Corp.,manufacturer that would enable the production of one et al., Case No. 21-cv-418 (JAK) (C.D. Cal.) billion or more doses of a tablet COVID-19 vaccine annually. On this news, Vaxarts stock price nearly dou-COVID-19 Test Development bled, to close at $6.26 per share. On June 26, 2020, Decision Diagnostics Corp. (Decision Diagnostics)Vaxart issued a press release announcing that Vaxarts is a medical diagnostics company that develops andvaccine had been Selected for the U.S. Governments manufactures medical testing products primarily forOperation Warp Speed COVID-19 vaccine develop-in-home use. On March 3, 2020, Decision Diagnosticsment program. The next day, the companys stock price announced in a press release that it was develop- increased further, closing at $8.04 per share. Between ing a finger-prick blood test for COVID-19, which theJune 26 and June 29, 2020, a hedge fund that pre-company expected would be commercially ready byviously owned a 29% interest in Vaxart, and had two summer 2020. Over the next four months, the companydirectors on the companys board, sold almost all of its published numerous additional press releases aboutVaxart holdings. On July 25, 2020, The New York Times its COVID-19 test, announcing that the test returnedpublished an article reflecting that Vaxart had not been results in only 15 seconds using only 1-2 microliters ofselected to receive significant financial support through blood, that the company expected to sell more thanOperation Warp Speed, and instead had merely been 500 million tests in its first year, and that the companyselected to participate in preliminary studies to assess was making progress toward filing and receiving anthe future possibility of partnership with Operation EUA with FDA. However, on December 17, 2020, theWarp Speed. The article also called attention to sus-SEC filed a complaint in federal court against Decisionpiciously timed stock sales by Vaxart insiders. On the Diagnostics and its CEO and sole officer, alleging thatnews, Vaxarts stock price fell more than 9% to close at contrary to Decision Diagnosticss optimistic statements$11.16.about the COVID-19 test, the company had only aOn August 24, 2020, a Vaxart investor filed a putative theoretical concept that had not yet materialized intoclass action complaint against Vaxart, four officers and a product. The day after the SEC complaint was filed,directors, and the hedge fund that previously owned Decision Diagnosticss stock price fell 60%, to close at29% of the companys stock, asserting claims under $0.04 per share. Sections 10(b) and 20(a) and Rule 10b-5 of the 1934 On January 15, 2021, a Decision Diagnostics inves- Act. The complaint alleged that Vaxarts statements tor filed a putative class action complaint assertingabout its COVID-19 vaccine were misleading because claims under Sections 10(b) and 20(a) and Rule 10b-5they exaggerated the prospects of mass producing of the 1934 Act against Decision Diagnostics and itsthe vaccine and falsely suggested that the company sole officer. The complaint alleges that the companyswould receive significant funding from Operation Warp public statements touting its COVID-19 test were falseSpeed. The complaint further alleged that defendants and misleading because Decision Diagnostics had nothad engaged in a pump and dump scheme, making developed a viable COVID-19 test, and could not meetthe misleading statements to artificially inflate Vaxarts FDAs requirements for obtaining an EUA for its purport- stock price to allow insiders to reap large profits.ed test.On December 3, 2020, the Court appointed a lead The statutory lead plaintiff process is underway. Leadplaintiff. On January 29, 2021, an amended complaint plaintiff motions are expected to be filed in March 2021. was filed. Defendants deadline to file a motion to dis-miss is March 12, 2021.Himmelberg v. Vaxart, et al., Case No. 20-cv-05949 (VC) (N.D. Cal.) COVID-19 Oral Vaccine Development Vaxart, Inc. (Vaxart) is a clinical-stage biotechnology company that develops oral vaccines. In early 2020, Vaxart began working on a vaccine for COVID-19. On June 25, 2020, the company announced that it had entered into a memorandum of understanding with a 61'