Pomerantz LLP announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed against Aardvark Therapeutics, Inc. (“Aardvark” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: AARD) and certain officers and directors. The class action, filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of California, and docketed under 26-cv-04643, is on behalf of a class consisting of all persons and entities other than Defendants that purchased or otherwise acquired: (a) Aardvark common stock pursuant and/or traceable to the Offering Documents (defined below) issued in connection with the Company’s initial public offering conducted on or about February 13, 2025 (the “IPO” or “Offering”); and/or (b) Aardvark securities between February 13, 2025 and May 14, 2026, both dates inclusive (the “Class Period”). Plaintiff pursues claims against the Defendants under the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
If you are an investor who purchased or otherwise acquired Aardvark common stock pursuant and/or traceable to the Offering Documents issued in connection with the Company’s IPO and/or Aardvark securities during the Class Period, you have until October 13, 2026 to ask the Court to appoint you as Lead Plaintiff for the class. A copy of the Complaint can be obtained at www.pomerantzlaw.com. To discuss this action, contact Danielle Peyton at newaction@pomlaw.com or 646-581-9980 (or 888.4-POMLAW), toll-free, Ext. 7980. Those who inquire by e-mail are encouraged to include their mailing address, telephone number, and the number of shares purchased.
[Click here for information about joining the class action]
Aardvark is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company that focuses on developing small-molecule therapies designed to inhibit hunger and treat metabolic diseases such as Prader-Willi Syndrome (“PWS”), a neurodevelopmental disorder condition that presents hyperphagia, or a feeling of extreme, insatiable hunger.
At all relevant times, Defendants have represented that Aardvark’s product candidates are unique because they target hunger, which is the need to avoid pain and discomfort from a lack of food consumption, rather than appetite, which is an affirmative desire for reward or pleasure from food consumption.
Aardvark has focused its efforts on developing selective compounds that target Bitter Taste Receptors (“TAS2Rs”) for hunger-associated conditions. Per Defendants’ research, activating TAS2Rs can induce secretion of endrogenous signaling molecules, including cholecystokinin (“CCK”) and glucagon-like peptide-1. Defendants further claim that CCK “has long been recognized as a promising pharmaceutical target because its release is triggered with food and helps suppress hunger”.
The Company’s lead product candidate is ARD-101, which Defendants have described as a “gut-restricted” small-molecule agonist of certain TAS2Rs expressed in the gut lumen. To evaluate the effect of ARD-101 on hyperphagia-related behavior in patients with PWS, Defendants commenced both a Phase 3 clinical trial, referred to as the Hunger Elimination or Reduction Objective (“HERO”) trial, and an open-label extension.
On January 23, 2025, Aardvark filed a registration statement on Form S-1 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) in connection with the IPO, which, after amendment, was declared effective by the SEC on February 12, 2025 (the “Registration Statement”).
On February 13, 2025, Aardvark filed a prospectus on Form 424B4 with the SEC in connection with the IPO, which incorporated and formed part of the Registration Statement (the “Prospectus” and, collectively with the Registration Statement, the “Offering Documents”).
The same day, Aardvark’s common stock began publicly trading on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker symbol “AARD”.
Pursuant to the Offering Documents, Aardvark issued 5,888,000 shares of its common stock to the public at the Offering price of $16.00 per share for proceeds of $87,613,440, after underwriting discounts and commissions.
The complaint alleges that the Offering Documents were negligently prepared and, as a result, contained untrue statements of material fact or omitted to state other facts necessary to make the statements made not misleading and were not prepared in accordance with the rules and regulations governing their preparation. Additionally, the complaint alleges that, throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and misleading statements regarding the Company’s business, operations, and prospects. Specifically, the complaint alleges that the Offering Documents and Defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) ARD-101 was less safe than Defendants had led investors to believe; (ii) accordingly, ARD-101’s clinical, regulatory, and commercial prospects were overstated; and (iii) as a result, Defendants’ public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.
The truth began to emerge on February 27, 2026, when Aardvark issued a press release “announc[ing] it is voluntarily pausing the Phase 3 Hunger Elimination or Reduction Objective (HERO) trial.” Aardvark attributed the decision to “reversible cardiac observations at above target therapeutic doses found during routine safety monitoring in a healthy volunteer study” and said that it “has voluntarily paused ongoing enrollment and dosing in the HERO trial” while “conducting a comprehensive review of the data to inform next steps.”
On this news, Aardvark’s stock price fell $7.02 per share, or 56.2%, to close at $5.47 per share on March 2, 2026.
Then, on May 14, 2026, Aardvark issued a press release “announc[ing] that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has placed a full clinical hold on its investigational new drug application (IND) for ARD-101 related to the Company’s previously announced voluntary pause.” The press release specified that “[t]he clinical hold applies to all ongoing clinical studies under the IND, including the Phase 3 HERO trial (AVK-101-301) evaluating ARD-101 for the treatment of hyperphagia in patients with Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS) and the Phase 3 open-label extension (OLE) trial (AVK-101-302).”
On this news, Aardvark’s stock price fell $2.16 per share, or 32.1%, to close at $4.57 per share on May 15, 2026.
As of the time the complaint was filed, Aardvark’s common stock continues to trade below the $16.00 per share Offering price, damaging investors.
Pomerantz LLP, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, London, Paris, and Tel Aviv, is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, Pomerantz pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 85 years later, Pomerantz continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered billions of dollars in damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomlaw.com.
Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.