PHILADELPHIA, Aug. 18, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hemispherx Biopharma, Inc. (AMEX:HEB) today announced that its six-year litigation battle with the South African investment conglomerate JCI Ltd., traded on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, ended in victory August 11, 2010, with the entry of a $188 million judgment in Hemispherx's favor and against Johannesburg Consolidated Investments (JCI) and former JCI officers R.B. Kebble and H.C. Buitendag. Kebble and Buitendag used JCI Ltd. to pull off what South African authorities have called the largest financial fraud in that country's history, engaging in numerous acts of securities fraud. As stated in Hemispherx's complaint, this included the illegal attempt to take over and pillage Hemispherx.
Founded in 1889, JCI is one of the oldest companies traded on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. According to JCI's published corporate profile: "The Company, became firmly established as one of the world's giants of development, diamonds, gold and platinum. JCI's strategic intent is to build on the foundations it has already laid as a specialized and important finance and development house, with its core investments in the mining sector."
Hemispherx sued JCI based upon allegations that JCI's former Chairman, Kebble, had targeted Hemispherx for an illegal takeover attempt. JCI intended to add Hemispherx to a list of companies pillaged by Kebble. It has now been established in South Africa that Kebble was the mastermind of an international scheme that saw dozens of small companies taken over and looted. Kebble's series of securities frauds, preying upon smaller companies, was eventually exposed and a criminal indictment for these acts was issued by the South African government against both Kebble and Buitendag. Kebble was shot to death gangland-style in Johannesburg. Buitendag was later convicted in South Africa for securities fraud.
The judgment entered August 11, 2010, marks the conclusion of the federal lawsuit first filed in late 2004 against JCI. Hemispherx was represented by The Equels Law Firm and Colson Hicks Eidson, both well established Miami trial firms.
Hemispherx is committed to pursuing JCI to the fullest extent possible. "We intend to move aggressively to domesticate the judgment in South Africa and elsewhere in an effort to collect on the judgment," said Thomas K. Equels, trial co-counsel and Hemispherx's General Counsel. "While JCI is one of South Africa's largest companies, this judgment shows that there are consequences for such egregious misconduct. JCI is not above the law."
Equels stated "First I want to compliment our excellent trial team of Bob Martinez, Paul Huck, Jud Orrick and Stan Chapman, as well as our forensic accounting expert, Stewart Appelrouth CPA. For six years the JCI defendants did everything they could to deflect responsibility for their gross misconduct. Without this lawsuit bringing JCI's misconduct to light in 2004, these financial predators would have taken over and destroyed Hemispherx, as they did to so many other companies. After JCI lost on appeal and then lost on a subsequent motion to dismiss, JCI ignored or violated various Court orders. United States District Court Judge James Lawrence King then entered a default on liability and conducted a one day trial to assess damages. After deliberations, he entered the $188 million dollar judgment."
Disclaimer: While the Company will aggressively seek to collect the judgment it has obtained against JCI, there are no assurances of collectability at this time. The collectability of the judgment will depend, among other things, on the ability of JCI to pay the judgment, the identification of assets that might be subject to attachment pursuant to the judgment, and the applicability and interpretation of the laws of the Republic of South Africa and other countries in recognizing the judgment and permitting collection upon the judgment. There is no assurance that the Company will be able to collect on all or even any part of the judgment.
About Hemispherx Biopharma
Hemispherx Biopharma, Inc. is an advanced specialty pharmaceutical company engaged in the clinical development of new drug entities for treatment of seriously debilitating disorders. Hemispherx' flagship products include Alferon N Injection(tm) (FDA approved for a category of sexually transmitted diseases) and the experimental therapeutics Ampligen(r) and Alferon LDO(tm). Ampligen(r) represents experimental nucleic acids being developed for globally important debilitating diseases and disorders of the immune system. Hemispherx' platform technology includes agents for potential treatment of various severely debilitating and life threatening diseases. Hemispherx has an extensive number of patents comprising its core intellectual property estate and a fully commercialized product (Alferon N Injection(tm)). The Company wholly owns and exclusively operates a GMP certified manufacturing facility in the United States. For more information please visit www.hemispherx.net.
Information contained in this news release, other than historical information, should be considered forward-looking and is subject to various risk factors and uncertainties. For instance, the strategies and operations of Hemispherx involve risk of competition, changing market conditions, change in laws and regulations affecting these industries and numerous other factors discussed in this release and in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Any specifically referenced investigational drugs and associated technologies of the Company (including Ampligen® and Alferon® LDO) are experimental in nature and as such are not designated safe and effective by a regulatory authority for general use and are legally available only through clinical trials with the referenced disorders. The forward-looking statements represent the Company's judgment as of the date of this release. The Company disclaims, however, any intent or obligation to update these forward-looking statements. Clinical trials for other potential indications of the approved biologic Alferon N Injection® do not imply that the product will ever be specifically approved commercially for these other treatment indications.