NEW YORK, July 13, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Shareholders of ViroPharma Incorporated ("ViroPharma" or the "Company") (Nasdaq:VPHM) are reminded of the securities class action (2:12-cv-02714) filed against ViroPharma and certain of its officers. The federal securities class action, filed in the United States District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania, is on behalf of all persons who purchased ViroPharma securities between December 14, 2011 and April 9, 2012, inclusive (the "Class Period"). This class action is brought under Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 against the Company and certain of its top officials.
If you are a shareholder who purchased ViroPharma securities during the Class Period, you have until July 23, 2012 to ask the Court to appoint you as Lead Plaintiff for the class. A copy of the complaint can be obtained at www.pomerantzlaw.com. To discuss this action, contact Rachelle R. Boyle at rrboyle@pomlaw.com or 888.476.6529 (or 888.4-POMLAW), toll free, x237. Those who inquire by e-mail are encouraged to include their mailing address and telephone number.
ViroPharma develops, licenses, and markets pharmaceutical products. The Company's principal product is Vancocin, an antibiotic which is used for the treatment of Clostridium Difficile Associated Diarrhea ("CDAD"). Vancocin, which accounts for more than half of the Company's revenues and a larger percentage of the Company's income, is the brand name for Vancomycin, an antibiotic which was approved by the FDA in intravenous form in 1958 and in oral form for the treatment of CDAD in 1985.
On December 14, 2011, ViroPharma announced that new labeling for Vancocin would give ViroPharma "three years of [marketing] exclusivity" and prevent generic Vancomycin capsules from being approved by the Federal Drug Administration ("FDA") during this period. On this news, the market price of ViroPharma stock rose sharply, increasing 17.9%, or $4.21 per share, to close at $27.80 per share on December 14, 2011 in heavy volume.
However, on April 10, 2012, ViroPharma announced that the FDA had told the Company that Vancocin's new label "would not qualify for three additional years of [market] exclusivity" because the new labeling did not qualify as "significant new use or indication." The Company further disclosed that the FDA had simultaneously announced the approval of three applications for generic Vancomycin capsules.
Further, on the same day, ViroPharma disclosed an investigation by the Federal Trade Commission into possible "unfair methods of competition" relating to Vancocin. On this news, ViroPharma shares declined $6.17 per share or 22%, to close at $22.44 per share.
The Pomerantz Firm, with offices in New York and Chicago, 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 75 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 defrauded investors. See www.pomerantzlaw.com.