High court allows Amgen suit

The Wall Street Journal reports that the Supreme Court on Wednesday cleared the way for a securities-fraud lawsuit alleging Amgen Inc played down safety concerns about two drugs used to treat anemia. The court’s 6-3 decision, written by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, affirmed a lower-court ruling that had certified the lawsuit to proceed as a class action. The suit, brought by Connecticut pension funds on behalf of purchasers of Amgen stock, alleged the Thousand Oaks, Calif., company repeatedly reassured investors about the safety of anemia drugs Aranesp and Epogen even as clinical trial data raised concerns that the drugs could harm cancer patients. Amgen’s statements led to inflated share prices, the suit alleged.