CHICAGO, Nov. 24, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- The deadline for purchasers of American Pharmaceutical Partners, Inc ("APP" or the "Company") (NASDAQ:APPX) publicly traded securities to move for lead plaintiff in a securities fraud class action brought by Much Shelist against APP and certain of its officers and directors, is rapidly approaching. If you purchased APP securities between February 19, 2002 and October 6, 2003, inclusive ("Class Period"), and you wish to be a lead plaintiff in the case, you must move to serve as lead plaintiff by filing a motion in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, by December 23, 2003.
If you wish to discuss your rights and interests, or if you have information relevant to the lawsuit, you may contact Carol V. Gilden or Louis A. Kessler 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@muchshelist.com. Your e-mail should refer to APP.
The Complaint that Much Shelist has filed alleges that APP, American Bioscience, Inc., and certain of their officers and directors violated the federal securities laws by issuing a series of materially false and misleading statements to the market in connection with the drug Abraxane, a reformulated version of the drug Taxol, under development for the treatment of breast cancer. These statements had the effect of artificially inflating the market price of APP's securities.
Specifically, the Complaint alleges that the statements concerning Abraxane were materially false and misleading because defendants had claimed that clinical studies had indicated that: (1) Abraxane could be administered without Cremophor, a toxic substance with severe side-effects that limited the tolerable dose and effectiveness of Taxol; (2) unlike Taxol, Abraxane could be administered without the need for potentially harmful steroid pre-medication and other drugs that reduce the loss of white blood cells; (3) because Abraxane was not formulated with a toxic substance it could be delivered in much higher doses than Taxol and was therefore more effective than Taxol with respect to reduction in tumor size; and (4) because it can be injected intravenously directly to the location of the tumor, Abraxane therapy is only one-half hour, compared to 3 hours for Taxol.
On September 24, 2003 the Company announced preliminary results of Phase III trials, but analysts were troubled by the lack of detail and inconsistent statements about the necessity for steroid pretreatment with Abraxane. Commentators such as the Wall Street Journal reported that American Pharmaceutical' did not release the data it used in conducting testing for Abraxane and its testing did not include a common testing safeguard called double-blinding. Double-blinding is essential to prevent research bias in a test such as this because both the doctors and patients knew if the patients were taking Abraxane or Taxol. After having had a chance to digest the implications of this announcement, the market's response was drastic, APP's stock fell 33% from a high of $44.15 on September 24, 2003 to close at $29.59 on September 26, 2003.
According to the Complaint, only two days before the announcement, and after having seen the Phase III test results, the Chairman and CEO of APP, Patrick Soon-Shiong, had disposed of 300,000 shares of his own Company stock. Finally, on October 6, 2003, an article in Barron's disclosed the entire truth -- not only was Abraxane not as safe or effective as the Company claimed, but it stood a poor chance of winning FDA approval. After this disclosure, APP shares fell an additional 12% from $30 per share to $26.20 per share on enormous volume of over 6.2 million shares.
If you purchased APP securities during the Class Period and if you meet certain other legal requirements, you may file a motion in the court where the lawsuit has been filed to serve as a lead plaintiff. You must file your motion no later than December 23, 2003.
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.