The law firm of Kirby McInerney LLP reminds investors that securities fraud class action lawsuits have been filed in the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington against Athira Pharma, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATHA) (“Athira” or the “Company”) on behalf of those who purchased or acquired Athira common stock: (a) pursuant and/or traceable to the registration statement and prospectus (collectively, the “Registration Statement”) issued in connection with Athira’s September 2020 initial public offering (“IPO”); and/or (b) between September 18, 2020 and June 17, 2021, inclusive (the “Class Period”). Investors have until August 24, 2021 to apply to the Court to be appointed as lead plaintiff in the lawsuits.

In September 2020, the Company closed its initial public offering, in which the Company sold and issued 12,000,000 shares of common stock at a price to the public of $17.00 per share. In January 2021, the Company completed a follow-on public offering of its common stock. As part of the follow-on offering, the Company issued and sold 4,000,000 shares of its common stock at a public offering price of $22.50 per share.

On June 17, 2021, Athira issued a press release announcing that the Company’s Chief Operating Officer had “assumed day-to-day leadership responsibilities for the Company, effective immediately.” The Company further disclosed that the Board of Directors placed the President and Chief Executive Officer Leen Kawas (“Kawas”), “on temporary leave pending a review of actions stemming from doctoral research [the CEO] conducted while at Washington State University.” The Company also disclosed that the “Board has formed an independent special committee to undertake this review.” On this news, Athira’s share price declined by $7.09 per share, or approximately 38.9%, from $18.24 per share to close at $11.15 per share on June 18, 2021.

The lawsuits allege that Defendants made materially false and misleading statements and omitted material adverse facts regarding the Company’s business. Specifically, Defendants failed to disclose to investors: (1) that the research conducted by Kawas, which formed the foundation for Athira’s product candidates and intellectual property, was tainted by Kawas’ scientific misconduct, including the manipulation of key data; and (2) that, as a result of the foregoing, Defendants’ positive statements about the Company’s business, operations, and prospects were materially misleading and omitted material facts necessary in order to make the statements made not misleading.

If you purchased or otherwise acquired Athira securities, have information, or would like to learn more about these claims, please contact Thomas W. Elrod of Kirby McInerney LLP at 212-371-6600, by email at investigations@kmllp.com, or by filling out this contact form, to discuss your rights or interests with respect to these matters without any cost to you.

Kirby McInerney LLP is a New York-based plaintiffs’ law firm concentrating in securities, antitrust, whistleblower, and consumer litigation. The firm’s efforts on behalf of shareholders in securities litigation have resulted in recoveries totaling billions of dollars. Additional information about the firm can be found at Kirby McInerney LLP’s website: http://www.kmllp.com.

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