NEW YORK, Feb. 6, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- A shareholder class action is pending in federal court against ImClone Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq:IMCL), accusing the company of pumping up its stock price, Berman DeValerio Pease Tabacco Burt & Pucillo said today.
The complaint, which was filed January 23, 2002 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, seeks damages for violations of federal securities laws on behalf of all investors who bought ImClone stock between April 26, 2001 and January 7, 2002.
Berman DeValerio has represented investors in class actions for 20 years. To review the complaint and learn more about becoming a lead plaintiff, visit the firm's Website at www.bermanesq.com.
The class action accuses ImClone, a biopharmaceutical company headquartered in New York, of artificially inflating its stock price by making false and misleading statements about Erbitux, a cancer treatment the company was developing.
On January 25, 2002, ImClone disclosed that it had received inquiries from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the U.S. Justice Department and the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations of the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the United States House of Representatives.
The lawsuit says that, during the Class Period, ImClone publicly and repeatedly touted Erbitux as a breakthrough drug that would become "one of the important new drugs in the history of oncology." According to the complaint, the defendants conditioned the market to believe that Erbitux was effective in reducing cancer and that its application for regulatory approval was progressing smoothly. Getting the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to approve Erbitux quickly was vital to the company because several competitors were racing to develop rival treatments.
In fact, the complaint maintains, the defendants made the positive statements about Erbitux knowing or recklessly disregarding that they had failed to submit documentation that the FDA had previously told them was necessary for it to accept the application. Finally, on December 28, 2001, the company announced that the FDA had refused to even review its application for approval.
The company's announcement and the emergence of other details about its deception sent ImClone share price tumbling, according to the lawsuit.
If you purchased ImClone common stock during the period April 26, 2001 through January 7, 2002, you may wish to contact the following attorneys at Berman DeValerio Pease Tabacco Burt & Pucillo to discuss your rights and interests:
Alicia M. Duff, Esq. Michael G. Lange, Esq. One Liberty Square Boston, MA 02109 (800) 516-9926 law@bermanesq.com
You may also visit the firm's website at www.bermanesq.com.
If you wish to apply to be lead plaintiff in this action, a motion must be filed on your behalf with the court no later than March 8, 2002. You may contact the attorneys at Berman DeValerio to discuss your rights regarding the appointment of lead plaintiff and your interest in the class action. To be a member of the class, however, you need not take any action at this time, and you may retain counsel of your own choice. If you decide to seek appointment as lead plaintiff, you may also retain counsel of your choice.
Berman DeValerio Pease Tabacco Burt & Pucillo (www.bermanesq.com) prosecutes class actions nationwide on behalf of institutions and individuals, chiefly victims of securities fraud, antitrust law violations and consumer fraud. The firm consists of 31 attorneys in Boston, San Francisco and West Palm Beach, Florida.
More information on this and other class actions can be found on the Class Action Newsline at www.primezone.com/ca