NEW YORK, April 17, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- The Brualdi Law Firm announces that a securities class action lawsuit has been commenced in the United States District Court for the Central District of California on behalf of purchasers of Amgen Inc. ("Amgen") (Nasdaq:AMGN) publicly traded securities during the period between May 4, 2005 and March 9, 2007 (the "Class Period").
No class has yet been certified in the above action. Until a class is certified, you are not represented by counsel unless you retain one. If you purchased Amgen common stock during the period described above, you have certain rights, and have until no later than 60 days from April 17, 2007, in which to move for Lead Plaintiff status. Any member of the purported class may move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff through counsel of their choice, or may choose to do nothing and remain an absent class member.
To be a member of the class you need not take any action at this time, and you may retain counsel of your choice. If you wish to discuss this action or have any questions concerning this Notice or your rights or interests with respect to these matters, please contact Tali Leger, Director of Shareholder Relations at The Brualdi Law Firm, 29 Broadway, Suite 2400, New York, New York 10006, by telephone toll free at (877) 495-1877 or (212) 952-0602, by email to tleger@brualdilawfirm.com or visit our website at http://www.brualdilawfirm.com/
The complaint charges Amgen and certain of its officers and directors with violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Amgen, the largest biotechnology company in the world, makes and sells Epogen and Aranesp, erythropoiesis-stimulating agents, a type of drug which encourages the creation of oxygen carrying red blood cells.
The complaint alleges that during the Class Period, defendants marketed Aranesp and Epogen to doctors for off-label uses. As a result, Amgen sold several hundred million dollars worth of drugs each year for these off-label uses. In October 2006, a group of researchers halted a clinical study of head and neck cancer patients treated with Aranesp because more deaths occurred in patients taking Aranesp than in those taking a placebo. Defendants did not disclose these results to investors. On February 16, 2007, a publication called The Cancer Letter published an article about the results of the study and on March 9, 2007, the FDA mandated a "black box" warning regarding the off-label use of Aranesp and Epogen. These revelations caused Amgen's stock price to decline.