Replies to post #602427 on NorthWest Biotherapeutics Inc (NWBO)

[Bill B]

Good stuff

LD: Tell us about the other cases you’re working on.

LP: I’m involved in a spoofing case we’ve brought on behalf of Northwest Biotherapeutics, a clinical stage biotech company developing lifesaving cancer vaccines, against a number of institutions, including Citadel, one of the world’s largest market makers.

The case is still in its early stages, but for context it’s a classic good guy vs. bad guy story.

Our client alleges that Citadel and the other defendants engaged in spoofing and manipulated the price of its shares, inducing other market participants to buy or sell at artificial prices. By repeatedly and brazenly manipulating the market through spoofing, Citadel and the other defendants directly impacted the price of Northwest Biotherapeutics’ shares, causing the company significant losses as it sold 49 million shares at artificially depressed prices.

Because of the defendants’ alleged spoofing, Northwest Bio, which has a proven, groundbreaking cancer vaccine awaiting FDA approval, has been unable to raise money at prices that should reflect its true value. Instead, its stock price has been gravely affected and the company has often struggled to survive, let alone bring its life extending drugs to market.

LD: Why is this case important?

LP: The facts that underpin the Northwest Biotherapeutics case are not limited to just one company or even one industry or one market. It’s much broader in scope and has a significant impact on market confidence more generally. It’s about markets not reflecting true supply and demand and what stock prices should be. It’s about high-frequency trading and algorithmic trading programs being used to manipulate markets in milliseconds.

LD: It sounds like this could be trailblazing case?

LP: Yes, high-frequency trading and algorithms are rapidly evolving and becoming more sophisticated, making manipulation easier, putting investors at greater risk and garnering the attention of law enforcement. Further, unlike most traditional securities class actions involving misstatements and omissions, these claims are brought under 10b-5(a) and (c), a relatively uncharted area of the law.