NEW YORK, Aug. 06, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP, a leading national securities law firm, reminds investors in Reckitt Benckiser Group plc ("Reckitt" or the "Company") (OTC:RBGLY) of the September 13, 2019 deadline to seek the role of lead plaintiff in a federal securities class action that has been filed against the Company.

If you invested in Reckitt ADSs between July 28, 2014 and April 9, 2019 and would like to discuss your legal rights, click here: www.faruqilaw.com/RBGLY. There is no cost or obligation to you.

You can also contact us by calling Richard Gonnello toll free at 877-247-4292 or at 212-983-9330 or by sending an e-mail to rgonnello@faruqilaw.com.

CONTACT:
FARUQI & FARUQI, LLP
685 Third Avenue, 26th Floor
New York, NY 10017
Attn:  Richard Gonnello, Esq.
rgonnello@faruqilaw.com
Telephone: (877) 247-4292 or (212) 983-9330

The lawsuit has been filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey on behalf of all those who purchased Reckitt American Depositary Shares ("ADSs") between July 28, 2014 and April 9, 2019 (the "Class Period"). The case, City of Sterling Heights Police & Fire Retirement System v. Reckitt Benckiser Group plc, et al., No. 19-cv-15382 was filed on July 15, 2019.

The lawsuit focuses on whether the Company and its executives violated federal securities laws by failing to disclose that Reckitt and its most senior executives perpetrated a scheme, which generated over $3 billion in proceeds, to facilitate opiate abuse among U.S. consumers and mislead investors and the public regarding the health and safety risks of Reckitt’s new key opiate product, Suboxone Film.

Prior to December 2014, the Company maintained a division dedicated to opioid addiction treatments known as Reckitt Benckiser Pharmaceuticals Inc. (“Reckitt Pharma”). For many years, Reckitt Pharma’s primary source of revenue was the manufacture and sale of Suboxone Tablets, a treatment for opioid addiction. Senior executives at Reckitt devised a plan to switch prescribers from Suboxone Tablets to the Company’s new proprietary treatment, Suboxone Film. Suboxone Film had similar active ingredients to Suboxone Tablets, however it was dispensed in a thin film placed under the tongue and stored in single-use foil wrappings. Executives planned to create a marketing campaign that touted the purported safety benefits of Suboxone Film over Suboxone Tablets in order to prevent generic competition. Key to this campaign was fabricating safety concerns with existing treatments in order to delay the entry and approval of generics for Suboxone Tablets. Between 2010 and 2014, the Company’s revenues from sales of the drug increased ten-fold to over $840 million annually.

On July 24, 2017, the Company announced, in connection with its second quarter 2017 financial results, that it had recorded a £318 million charge related to ongoing U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Federal Trade Commission investigations into its former Reckitt Pharma operations. On this news, Reckitt's share price fell from $21.35 per share on July 21, 2017 to a closing price of $20.34 on July 24, 2017: a $1.01 or a 4.73% drop.

On February 19, 2018, Reckitt announced, in connection with its full year 2017 financial results, that it had recorded an exceptional charge of £296 million due to the DOJ and FTC investigations, and that the California Department of Insurance was also now investigating Reckitt. On this news, Reckitt's share price fell from $18.80 per share on February 16, 2018 to a closing price of $16.76 on February 20, 2018: a $2.04 or a 10.85% drop.

On April 9, 2019, the DOJ filed a criminal indictment against Reckitt Pharma (now Indivior), which detailed a years-long scheme to defraud the public and the Company’s investors through the marketing and sale of Suboxone Film that had generated more than $3 billion in illicit scheme proceeds. The 28- count criminal indictment charged Indivior with a multitude of felonies, including conspiracy and mail, wire and healthcare fraud, and directly implicated the top executives of Reckitt and Reckitt Pharma. On this news, Reckitt's share price fell from $16.90 per share on April 9, 2019 to a closing price of $15.87 on April 10, 2019: a $1.03 or a 6.09% drop.

The court-appointed lead plaintiff is the investor with the largest financial interest in the relief sought by the class who is adequate and typical of class members who directs and oversees the litigation on behalf of the putative class. Any member of the putative class may move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff through counsel of their choice, or may choose to do nothing and remain an absent class member. Your ability to share in any recovery is not affected by the decision to serve as a lead plaintiff or not. 

Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP also encourages anyone with information regarding Reckitt's conduct to contact the firm, including whistleblowers, former employees, shareholders and others.

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