The following statement was issued today by the law firm of Schiffrin Barroway Topaz & Kessler, LLP:
Notice is hereby given that a class action lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York on behalf of all purchasers of securities of GPC Biotech AG ("GPC" or the "Company") from December 5, 2005 through July 24, 2007, 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 Topaz & Kessler, LLP (Darren J. Check, Esq. or Richard A. Maniskas, Esq.) toll free at 1-888-299-7706 or 1-610-667-7706, or via e-mail at info@sbtklaw.com.
The Complaint charges GPC and certain of its officers and directors with violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. GPC is a biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery, development and commercialization of new drugs to treat cancer. More specifically, the Complaint alleges that the Company failed to disclose and misrepresented the following material adverse facts which were known to defendants or recklessly disregarded by them: (1) that the U.S. Federal Drug Administration ("FDA") had previously expressed disapproval regarding the Company's choice of methodology and a primary endpoint in the satraplatin studies; (2) that the Company continued to evaluate satraplatin using the disputed endpoint; (3) that the Company disregarded the FDA's previously expressed concerns about the disputed primary endpoint, and submitted the satraplatin study results to the FDA with the disputed primary endpoint supporting its satraplatin New Drug Application ("NDA"); (4) that the FDA's evaluators would be unable to determine disease progression from the Company's NDA submission; and (5) that the interim data submitted with the NDA would not allow the FDA to conclude that satraplatin was more effective than placebo in terms of overall survival.
Throughout the Class Period, the Company reported positive results from its satraplatin Phase 3 trial, and indicated that data from the trial would form the Company's New Drug Application ("NDA") with the FDA. The Company reported a 40 percent reduction in risk of disease progression for study participants who received satraplatin, and reported that the study data showed that the results for PFS were highly statistically significant. The Company's investors were shocked on July 20, 2007, when the FDA released its "Briefing Document" in advance of the FDA's Oncology Drugs Advisory Committee's meeting to consider the satraplatin NDA. Therein, the FDA cited five "issues" that it had with the Company's satraplatin NDA. On this news, the Company's shares declined $7.80 per share, or over 24.5 percent, to close on July 20, 2007 at $24.00 per share, on unusually heavy trading volume. On the following trading day, the Company's shares declined an additional $3.05 per share, to close on July 23, 2007 at $20.95 per share.
Then on July 24, 2007, the FDA's advisory panel voted 12-0 to recommend delaying a decision on satraplatin until the Company gathered additional data to determine whether satraplatin actually helped men with prostate cancer live longer. In response, the Company disclosed that it did not expect to have the necessary survival analysis for another year. On this news, the Company's shares declined an additional $7.19 per share, or 35.36 percent, to close on July 25, 2007 at $13.16 per share, on unusually heavy trading volume.
Plaintiff seeks to recover damages on behalf of class members and is represented by the law firm of Schiffrin Barroway Topaz & Kessler which prosecutes class actions in both state and federal courts throughout the country. Schiffrin Barroway Topaz & Kessler is a driving force behind corporate governance reform, and has recovered billions of dollars on behalf of institutional and individual investors from the United States and around the world.
For more information about Schiffrin Barroway Topaz & Kessler or to sign up to participate in this action online, please visit www.sbtklaw.com
If you are a member of the class described above, you may, not later than September 24, 2007, move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff of the class, if you so choose. 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. You may retain Schiffrin Barroway Topaz & Kessler or other counsel of your choice, to serve as your counsel in this action.