SEATTLE, July 31, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Genzyme Corporation (Nasdaq:GENZ), a Cambridge, Massachusetts-based biotechnology company, is the target of an investigation by Seattle-based shareholder-rights law firm Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro (HBSS), following reports that Genzyme may have delayed news concerning manufacturing problems.
According to HBSS attorney Reed Kathrein, Genzyme shareholders may have legal recourse against the biotech giant if the company is found to have withheld material information that caused Genzyme stock prices to plummet.
Genzyme's share price has fallen more than 35 percent from $83.25 per share to below $53 per share, costing investors more than $8 billion, published reports state.
"Shareholders have the right to know the circumstances surrounding Genzyme's rapid share-price collapse, and we believe there may be more to the story," said Kathrein. "Every investor should be afforded access to accurate, timely information, but the reality is that isn't always the case."
According to media reports, Genzyme did not divulge operational problems the Cambridge-based company was having in two of its plants, creating a shortage of its drug Myozyme and delaying approval of other products in the Genzyme pipeline.
According to Kathrein, the FDA raised concerns about one of Genzyme's plants in late 2008, but the company failed to disclose the problems until March of 2009, after Genzyme received a second notification from the FDA.
"We have been representing the rights of institutional and individual shareholders for many years and we are always surprised at the hubris companies display by withholding material information," Kathrein noted. "If a publicly held company like Genzyme has significant manufacturing setbacks, they have an obligation to inform shareholders."
HBSS is interested in talking with Genzyme investors. If you are a Genzyme shareholder and are interested in learning more about your rights, visit www.hbsslaw.com/genzyme or e-mail genzyme@hbsslaw.com or call (510) 725-3033.
About Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro
Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro is Seattle-based shareholder-rights law firm with offices in Chicago, Cambridge, Los Angeles, Phoenix and San Francisco. Since 1993, HBSS has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for institutional and individual investors defrauded by unscrupulous management of publicly held corporations though tenacious legal representation.