NEW YORK, Nov. 10, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- Notice is hereby given that a securities class action lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California on behalf of purchasers of Titan Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ("Titan" or the "Company") (Amex:TTP) securities, between December 1, 1999 and July 22, 2002, inclusive (the "Class Period").
If you purchased Titan securities during the Class Period, you may, no later than January 5, 2004, move the court to serve as a lead plaintiff, provided you meet certain legal requirements. To serve as a Lead Plaintiff, you will be required to sign the Certification, as provided on our website at www.nyclasslaw.com/join.html.
The Complaint alleges that defendants violated Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder, by issuing a series of material misrepresentations to the market between December 1, 1999 and July 22, 2002 concerning Titan's drug, Iloperidone. Due to these misrepresentations, the price of Goodyear securities became artificially inflated. Specifically, the Complaint alleges that the defendants' statements were materially false and misleading because they failed to disclose and/or misrepresented the following: (1) that Titan was aware, through its licensing agreement with Aventis SA, that Iloperidone caused negative cardiovascular, urogenital, and respiratory reactions; (2) that Titan was aware that Iloperidone was not safe and efficient; (3) that Titan was aware that the Iloperidone program conducted by Novartis SA was not proceeding well and would not be completed on schedule; (4) that Titan was aware that Iloperidone was not a comparable or superior product to its competitors; (5) that Titan was aware at the time it entered into the licensing agreement with Novartis SA for the Japanese marketing rights, that Iloperidone caused negative cardiovascular, urogenital, and respiratory reactions; (6) that Titan was aware that the clinical trial results indicated that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration would require Iloperidone, because of its cardiovascular, urogenital, and respiratory problems, to be marketed with box warnings and physician letters; and (7) that Titan was aware that it was not making progress towards commercialization of Iloperidone because the drug caused cardiovascular, urogenital, and respiratory problems.
On July 24, 2001, the Company announced that its U.S. filing for Iloperidone would be delayed one year. The Company indicated that the delay was necessary to investigate once-a-day dosing, demonstrate a favorable safety profile when switching from other antipsychotic agents to Iloperidone, and support the competitive profile of the compound. This announcement failed to reveal the real reason behind the Company's delay in its U.S. filing, which was that Iloperidone caused cardiovascular, urogenital, and respiratory problems. After this announcement, Company's stock fell 57%, or $16.04, closing at $11.95 on July 24, 2001.
After the market had closed on July 22, 2002, the Company announced the completion of a study conducted by Novartis of the effect of Iloperidone on the EKG profile of patients. A primary endpoint of the study was evaluation of the change in QT interval from baseline to week six. The study indicated that results for Iloperidone were roughly comparable to one of the approved agents in the study, Ziprasidone,. Given these results, the Company stated that, even if approvable, these results may potentially limit the opportunity of Iloperidone as first line therapy for schizophrenia. After this news was released the Company's stock fell 97%, or $63.63 from a high during the Class Period of $65.26 on September 26, 2000 to close at $1.63 on July 22, 2002
Plaintiff seeks to recover damages on behalf of all purchasers or acquirers of Titan securities during the Class Period. Plaintiff is represented in this class action by the law firm of Bull & Lifshitz, LLP. Bull & Lifshitz, LLP has extensive experience in litigating investor class actions. For more information regarding Bull & Lifshitz, LLP, please visit our website at www.nyclasslaw.com.
For an information package please view www.nyclasslaw.com/infopackage.html. If you wish to discuss this action or have any questions concerning this notice of your rights or interests with respect to this matter, please contact Peter D. Bull, Esq. or Joshua M. Lifshitz, Esq., Bull & Lifshitz, LLP via telephone at (212) 213-6222, via fax at (212) 213-9405 or by email at counsel@nyclasslaw.com.
More information on this and other class actions can be found on the Class Action Newsline at www.primezone.com/ca.