NEW YORK, May 25, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- A securities class action lawsuit was commenced in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey on behalf of a class (the "Class") consisting of all persons who purchased or otherwise acquired securities of Genta, Inc. ("Genta" or the "Company") (Nasdaq:GNTA) between September 10, 2003 and May 3, 2004, inclusive (the "Class Period"). A copy of the complaint is available from the Court or can be viewed on the Wechsler Harwood web site at: www.whesq.com.
Plaintiff alleges that Genta and certain of the Company's executive officers with violations of federal securities laws. Among other things, plaintiff claims that defendants' omissions and material misrepresentations concerning Genta's operations and financial prospects artificially inflated the Company's stock price, inflicting damages on investors.
Genta is a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the identification, development and commercialization of novel drugs for cancer and related diseases. Plaintiff alleges that during the Class Period defendants artificially inflated the price of Genta stock by concealing material information about the safety and efficacy of Genasense, a potential blockbuster anti-cancer agent that was being reviewed for approval by the Food and Drug Administration ("FDA"). Plaintiff alleges that: (i) defendants did not maintain sufficient documentation to support the Company's repeated claims that Genasense could demonstrate an "overall survival benefit"; (ii) the Genasense data submitted by the Company to the FDA was unclear, and that much of the improvement noted by the Company in its studies was not documented and could not be isolated and identified; (iii) defendants lacked a good faith basis to claim that approval of Genasense was reasonably foreseeable; and (iv) as a result of the deficiencies in the Genasense FDA application, it was not foreseeable at any time during the Class Period that Genta would be able to achieve profitability in the near-term.
On April 30, 2004, Genta shareholders learned that the FDA advisory panel had voted 13-3 in favor of recommending that the FDA reject the Genasense application for Genta's failure to demonstrate that Genasense's benefits outweighed its risks and side effects. That day, the FDA issued a statement regarding Genasense stating the advisory panel determined that Genta had failed to demonstrate either that Genasense performed as promised or that the Company maintained the data to support its claims of efficacy. In reaction to this announcement, the price of Genta common stock plummeted, falling almost $6.00 per share, to below $8.45 per share. In the days that followed shares of the Company continued to trade lower as investors digested the news, trading to below $5.00 by May 4, 2004.
If you are a member of the class described above, you may, not later than July 5, 2004 move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff of the class, if you so choose. In order to serve as lead plaintiff, however, you must meet certain legal requirements. Wechsler Harwood has taken a leading role in many important actions on behalf of defrauded shareholders. The Wechsler Harwood website (www.whesq.com) has more information about the firm and detailed information regarding this matter. If you wish to discuss this action with us, or have any questions concerning this notice or your rights and interests with regard to the case, please contact the following:
Wechsler Harwood LLP 488 Madison Avenue, 8th Floor New York, New York 10022 Toll Free Telephone: (877) 935-7400 Virgilio Soler, Wechsler Harwood Shareholder Relations Department: vsoler@whesq.com extension 283.
More information on this and other class actions can be found on the Class Action Newsline at www.primezone.com/ca