ATLANTA, June 5, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- Chitwood & Harley, LLP, which previously filed a class action lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, on behalf of purchasers of securities of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc., ("Regeneron" or the "Company") (Nasdaq:REGN), reminds Regeneron purchasers that the deadline to file lead plaintiff papers is July 1, 2003. Chitwood & Harley's complaint is brought on behalf of purchasers of Regeneron securities between March 28, 2000 and March 30, 2003. The defendants are Regeneron, Leonard Schleifer, George Yancopoulos, Hans-Peter Guler, Neil Stahl and Murray Goldberg. A copy of a complaint in the action is available on our website, www.classlaw.com. If you would like to discuss your rights in connection with this matter, please click on Regeneron on our website, www.classlaw.com or email Jennifer Morris at jlm@classlaw.com or call us at 1-888-873-3999 and ask for either Jennifer Morris or Lauren Antonino.
Regeneron is a biopharmaceutical company that discovers, develops and intends to commercialize therapeutic drugs for the treatment of serious medical conditions. During the Class Period, Regeneron initiated Phase II clinical trials for its diet drug AXOKINE for use in obese patients. The complaint alleges that the Defendants claimed that AXOKINE would help patients lose weight better than a placebo over a year. However, more than two-thirds of the 1,467 patients on the medicine in the clinical trials developed antibodies to it after three months, which made the medicine less effective. Patients taking AXOKINE, including those who developed antibodies, lost an average 6.2 pounds, compared with 2.6 pounds for those on a placebo, which the Company admits is similar to results dieters get with already available pills. Before results were released, defendants had led the public to believe that AXOKINE would have more than $500 million in annual sales.
On March 31, 2003, Regeneron admitted AXOKINE lost effectiveness in about 70% of patients in a study. On this news, Regeneron's shares plunged from $17.31 on March 28, 2003, to close at $7.52 on March 31, 2003, on extremely heaving trading volume. However, even defendants' admission was false, as, in fact, defendants manipulated the results of the study. In truth, 73.5% of the patients developed antibodies to the drug. As a result of the defendants' false statements, Regeneron's stock price traded at inflated levels during the Class Period, increasing to as high as $40 on December 18, 2000, whereby the Company and its top officers and directors sold more than $430 million worth of their own securities.
There are certain legal requirements to serve as lead plaintiff, which we would be happy to discuss with you. Any member of the purported class may move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff through counsel of their choice, or may choose to remain an absent class member. If you wish to discuss this action or have any questions concerning this notice or your rights with respect to this matter, you may contact Lauren Antonino or Jennifer Morris at 1-888-873-3999 (toll-free) or by e-mail at jlm@classlaw.com. You may also contact us through our website at www.classlaw.com by clicking on Regeneron.
Chitwood & Harley LLP is a class action firm that concentrates its practice in representing victims of securities fraud and corporate mismanagement, as well as other complex litigation. Chitwood & Harley has been appointed lead counsel in major actions throughout the United States and has been instrumental in recovering billions of dollars on behalf of its clients. Clients and courts alike have praised the results achieved by Chitwood & Harley. Recently, the federal judge in In re BankAmerica Securities Litigation, which resulted in the highest recovery last year in a securities class action, commented favorably on counsel's performance stating: "Class members were well served by experienced attorneys who, through considerable time and effort, obtained a significant recovery for their clients," and, "(a)s the Court has remarked throughout this litigation, class counsel ... have performed at exceptionally high levels, and all parties have been exceedingly well represented."
For more information about Chitwood & Harley, please visit our website at www.classlaw.com or contact Jennifer Morris at 1-888-873-3999 (toll-free), by e-mail at jlm@classlaw.com or at 1230 Peachtree Street, Suite 2300, Atlanta, Georgia 30309.
More information on this and other class actions can be found on the Class Action Newsline at www.primezone.com/ca