Sumitomo Pharma used a stock-exchange disclosure on August 12 to reject a report from short-seller Gotham City Research LLC that questioned the integrity of research behind one of its approved drugs. The company pointed out that Gotham City itself disclosed, inside its own report, that it holds a short position in Sumitomo Pharma's shares and stands to profit if the stock falls.
The disputed report, published August 7 and titled "Sumitomo Chemical and Sumitomo Pharmaceutical: Part II - CiRA, Dr. Yamanaka, and the undisclosed history of image duplication concerns," raised image-duplication concerns tied to research connected to Kyoto University's CiRA institute and Dr. Yamanaka. Sumitomo Pharma's rebuttal centers on a treatment it developed over many years with Kyoto University and other partners under what it describes as a long-running academic, industry and government collaboration.
The company says it has verified the reliability of the data used in that product's approval review, and that the treatment received a conditional, time-limited approval after scientific and medical review by Japanese regulators. Sumitomo Pharma adds it is running a post-marketing Phase 4 evaluation trial, required under the terms of that conditional approval, to build further evidence on the drug's effectiveness and safety, with the stated goal of converting the conditional approval into full approval.
This is Gotham City's second attack on Sumitomo Pharma in under two weeks. On August 3, the same firm published a separate report challenging the company's financial reporting. Sumitomo Pharma says it will continue giving shareholders timely and appropriate disclosures, and it warned it may pursue "appropriate responses, including legal measures," against information it considers inaccurate or misleading.
The disclosure is Sumitomo Pharma's own account of the dispute. Gotham City's full report and the specific evidence behind its image-duplication allegation are not part of this filing, so the underlying research claims remain untested by any outside review referenced in the company's statement.