CHICAGO, April 19, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- Much Shelist Freed Denenberg Ament & Rubenstein, P.C. announces that class action lawsuits are pending in various federal courts on behalf of purchasers of the following securities during the periods set forth below:
Company Class Period Andrx Corporation (Nasdaq:ADRX) April 30, 2001 - February 21, 2002 Bristol-Myers Squibb Company September 19, 2001 - March 19, 2002; (NYSE:BMY) May 16, 2001 - April 1, 2002 Calpine Corporation (NYSE:CPN) January 5, 2001 - December 13, 2001
Much Shelist is currently investigating potential claims against these companies. If you purchased securities in any of these companies during the periods listed and wish to discuss your rights and interests in any of these matters, or if you have information relevant to any of the lawsuits, you may contact Carol V. Gilden or Michael E. Moskovitz at Much Shelist Freed Denenberg Ament & Rubenstein, P.C., by calling a toll-free number 1-800-470-6824, or by sending an e-mail to investorhelp@muchlaw.com. Your e-mail should refer to the company or companies that affect you. A description of the investigations follows:
Andrx Corporation (Nasdaq:ADRX)
Lead Plaintiff Petitions Due May 21, 2002
Much Shelist is investigating whether Andrx Corporation ("Andrx") and certain of its officers and directors violated Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder, by issuing false and misleading statements concerning its business and financial condition. Specifically, Much Shelist believes that Andrx issued a series of statements concerning its generic version of the drug Tiazac(r), which indicated that the only item preventing the drug from reaching the market was continuing patent litigation with Biovail Corp. The proposed defendants, however, failed to disclose that Andrx had difficulty making a stable version of generic Tiazac(r), including that it had amended its original application to the FDA thirteen times. When Andrx announced on February 21, 2002 that the FDA had raised "certain issues" concerning the generic Tiazac(r), Andrx's stock price dropped from $42.61 per share on February 21, 2002 to $34.96 per share on February 22, 2002, on volume of 15,767,100 - over seven times the prior day's volume.
Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE:BMY)
Lead Plaintiff Petitions Due May 20, 2002
Much Shelist is investigating whether Bristol-Myers Squibb Corporation ("Bristol-Myers") and certain of its officers and directors violated the federal securities laws by making, and permitting its drug development partner to make, without correction, materially false and misleading statements concerning the progress of its Erbitux cancer treatment drug's application for FDA approval. Specifically, Much Shelist believes that on December 28, 2001, a press release disclosed that the FDA had rejected the filing of a Biologics License Application for Erbitux. On January 4, 2002, The Cancer Letter reported that the FDA repeatedly informed Bristol-Myers about problems with the Erbitux clinical trials during the Class Period. Additionally, Much Shelist is also investigating whether Bristol-Myers knew or recklessly disregarded that its clinical trial of VANLEV, a new drug for the treatment of hypertension, that was completed in September, demonstrated that VANLEV users experienced a higher risk of a side effect known as angiodema and that it was not shown to be superior to a cheaper generic drug already on the market. When this information was belatedly disclosed to the market, the stock price plummeted from a Class Period high of $56 to below $50 - and now to near $30 per share.
Lead Plaintiff Petitions Due June 11, 2002
Much Shelist is separately investigating whether Bristol-Myers and certain of its officers and directors violated Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder, by engaging in a scheme to mislead the investing public as to Bristol-Myers' ability to maintain its historical revenue and earnings growth, its future prospects and its sales and revenue levels for fiscal year 2001. Specifically, Much Shelist believes that Bristol-Myers engaged in a systematic program of moving sales from future periods in a process of what is sometimes called "channel stuffing." In fact, on April 1, 2002, Bristol-Myers admitted that it had overloaded U.S. wholesalers with products by offering them incentives. The Company further admitted that U.S. wholesalers were holding approximately $1 billion in excess inventory and that the de-stocking of this inventory would materially and adversely affect sales and earnings in 2002. In response to the April 1, 2002 announcement, the price of the Company's stock dropped over 5% to $38.24. The stock is currently trading near $30 per share.
Calpine Corporation (NYSE:CPN)
Lead Plaintiff Petitions Due May 13, 2002
Much Shelist is investigating whether Calpine Corporation ("Calpine" or the "Company") and certain of its officers and directors violated the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 by issuing false and misleading statements and press releases concerning the Company's sale of and demand for power and the Company's ability to generate sufficient cash revenue to service its debt.
Calpine's stock, which went public in 1996, on a split adjusted basis, went from $2 at the IPO stage to over $33 in January 2001. Much Shelist believes that the Company's stock price was very important because Calpine was planning to build or acquire $15 billion of plants over the next four years. The financing for these plants was based on the performance of its stock because many of its bond buyers were looking to convert to common stock. If the stock did not perform, financing would be difficult to fund the Company's expansion. However, certain of Calpine's manipulative transactions, including those with Enron, such as inflated revenues, began to emerge on December 9, 2001. On December 14, 2001, before the market opened, Moody's Investors Service announced that it might cut the credit rating on Calpine's $11.6 billion of debt to junk. In response, Calpine's shares plummeted to $12.50, a more than 26% drop. Then, after the close of the market on December 14, 2001, Moody's Investors Service announced that it had in fact cut its rating of Calpine's debt to junk. Nevertheless, during the class period, certain Calpine officers and directors sold their personally held Calpine common stock, generating more than $34 million in proceeds, while the Company raised billions of dollars in a series of debt offerings.
Much Shelist seeks to recover damages on behalf of class members in these companies. If you purchased securities in any of these companies during the Class Periods referenced above and if you meet certain other legal requirements, you may move the court where the lawsuit(s) has been filed within the time period described above to serve as a lead plaintiff. Please contact Carol V. Gilden or Michael E. Moskovitz at Much Shelist Freed Denenberg Ament & Rubenstein, P.C., by calling a toll-free number 1-800-470-6824, or by sending an e-mail to investorhelp@muchlaw.com. Your e-mail should refer to the company or companies that affect you.
A lead plaintiff is a representative party that acts on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. In order to be appointed lead plaintiff, the court must determine that the class member's claim is typical of the claims of other class members, and that the class member will adequately represent the class. Under certain circumstances, one or more class members may together serve as "lead plaintiff." Your ability to share in any recovery is not, however, affected by the decision whether or not to serve as a lead plaintiff. The requirements for serving as a lead plaintiff are set forth in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. Section 78u-4).
Much Shelist's history is one of experience, leadership and results. For more than 25 years, Much Shelist has represented plaintiffs in class action litigation in federal and state courts across the United States. The firm has successfully prosecuted cases involving securities fraud, antitrust violations, consumer fraud, unlawful business practices and insurance company fraud. Under Much Shelist's leadership, class members have obtained judgments and settlements in excess of $4 billion.
More information on this and other class actions can be found on the Class Action Newsline at www.primezone.com/ca.