BALA CYNWYD, Pa., March 20, 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 Northern District of California on behalf of all purchasers of the common stock of VaxGen Inc. ("VaxGen" or the "Company") (Nasdaq:VXGN) from August 6, 2002 through February 26, 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.
VaxGen, Inc., is engaged in the development and commercialization of AIDSVAX, a vaccine designed to prevent infection or disease caused by HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus), the virus that causes AIDS. The original AIDSVAX technology was developed by Genentech, Inc. and then licensed exclusively to the Company.
On February 26, 2003, the defendants disclosed to the investing community that the accuracy of their previous clinical reports of elevated efficacy rates for non-caucasians were skewed because the Company had not taken the necessary "penalties" to account for the fact that less than 10% of the clinical trial participants were non-caucasians.
Thus the first-ever large scale trial of an HIV vaccine failed overall, after the infection rates in Whites and Hispanics, the vast majority of study participants, ended up basically equal after three years and the vaccine did not show a statistical significance in cutting down HIV infection rates within the study population as a whole.
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/cgi/signup.cgi.
If you are a member of the class described above, you may, not later than May 16, 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