NEW YORK, Jan. 14, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- Pomerantz Haudek Block Grossman & Gross LLP (www.pomerantzlaw.com) has filed a class action lawsuit against Biopure Corporation ("Biopure" or the "Company") (Nasdaq:BPUR) and three of the Company's senior officers, on behalf of all persons or entities who purchased the securities of Biopure during the period between March 17, 2003 and December 24, 2003, inclusive (the "Class Period"). The case was filed in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts.
The complaint alleges that Biopure, a leading developer, manufacturer and marketer of "oxygen therapeutics" for both human and veterinary use, and the Company's President, Chief Technology Officer and Chief Financial Officer, violated Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 by falsely issuing a number of positive statements regarding the progress of Biopure's application for regulatory approval to market Hemopure in the United States for patients undergoing orthopedic surgery, which was submitted to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ("FDA").
As alleged in the Complaint, by the beginning of the Class Period, the FDA had informed defendants of flaws in the Hemopure application which put defendants on notice that FDA approval was in serious doubt, including citing "safety concerns" arising from adverse clinical data submitted as part of the Company's application. Yet, before defendants disclosed these adverse facts, they conducted at least two offerings of Biopure common stock and generated millions of dollars in proceeds. In addition, certain high-level Biopure insiders sold hundreds of thousands of Biopure common shares at artificially inflated prices.
On December 24, 2003, after the Securities & Exchange Commission ("SEC") threatened civil litigation, defendants stunned the market by announcing that, in fact, the FDA had halted further clinical trials of Hemopure due to safety concerns. Defendants also disclosed that the commercial release of Hemopure in the United States would be delayed beyond mid-2004. As a result of these disclosures, Biopure common stock lost 16% of their value on December 26, 2003, to close at $2.43 per share. This was a decline of more than 239% from the stock's Class Period high of $8.25 per share, reached on or about August 21, 2003.
If you purchased the securities of Biopure during the Class Period, you have until March 1, 2004 to ask the Court to appoint you as one of the lead plaintiffs for the Class. In order to serve as lead plaintiff, you must meet certain legal requirements. If you wish to review a copy of the Complaint, to discuss this action or have any questions, please contact Andrew G. Tolan, Esq. of the Pomerantz firm at 888-476-6529 (or (888) 4-POMLAW), toll free, or at agtolan@pomlaw.com by e-mail. Those who inquire by e-mail are encouraged to include their mailing address and telephone number.
The Pomerantz firm, which has offices in New York, Chicago and Washington, D.C., 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, the Pomerantz firm pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 50 years later, the Pomerantz firm 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 numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members.