BALA CYNWYD, Pa., June 19, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- -- The following statement was issued today by the law firm of Schiffrin & Barroway, LLP:
Notice is hereby given that a class action lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana on behalf of all purchasers of the common stock of Guidant Corporation ("Guidant" or the "Company") (NYSE:GDT) from June 23, 1999 through June 12, 2003, inclusive (the "Class Period").
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 Schiffrin & Barroway, LLP (Marc A. Topaz, Esq. or Stuart L. Berman, Esq.) toll free at 1-888-299-7706 or 1-610-667-7706, or via e-mail at info@sbclasslaw.com.
The Complaint alleges that defendants violated Section 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder, by issuing a series of materially false and misleading statements throughout the Class Period. Specifically, the complaint alleges that defendants issued numerous positive statements regarding the performance of ANCURE(r), a device used for the treatment of abdominal aortic aneurysms ("AAA"). As alleged in the complaint, these statements were materially false and misleading because they failed to disclose and/or misrepresented the following adverse facts, which were known, or should have been known to defendants at the time they were made: (a) that the Company had violated Food & Drug Administration ("FDA") regulations by marketing and selling a device (ANCURE) which had not been approved by the FDA; (b) that the Company failed to report to the FDA that problems with ANCURE had resulted in more than 2,600 injuries, including 12 deaths; and (c) that as a result of the Company's actions, the Company would be subject to additional government scrutiny, thereby negatively impacting its future earnings.
On June 12, 2003, the Company announced that its subsidiary, EndoVascular Technologies ("EVT"), entered into a settlement agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice relating to certain problems with ANCURE(r). Specifically, the article stated that under the terms of the agreement, EVT agreed to make a payment of $43.4 million and an additional $49 million civil settlement to the government. EVT also agreed to plead guilty to 10 felony counts, including nine for shipping misbranded products and one count of a former employee making false statements to the government. Prior to the disclosure of this adverse information, the Individual Defendants and other Guidant insiders sold more than $26.4 million of their personally-held shares of Guidant stock to the unsuspecting public.
Plaintiff seeks to recover damages on behalf of class members and is represented by the law firm of Schiffrin & Barroway, which prosecutes class actions in both state and federal courts throughout the country. Schiffrin & Barroway is a driving force behind corporate governance reform, and has recovered in excess of a billion dollars on behalf of institutional and high net worth individual investors. For more information about Schiffrin & Barroway, or to sign up to participate in this action online, please visit http://www.sbclasslaw.com/currentcases.cfm.
If you are a member of the class described above, you may, not later than August 12, 2003, 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.
More information on this and other class actions can be found on the Class Action Newsline at www.primezone.com/ca.