ATLANTA, Jan. 24, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- Chitwood & Harley LLP announces that a class action lawsuit is pending in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts on behalf of persons who purchased Transkaryotic Therapies, Inc. ("TKTX") (Nasdaq:TKTX) securities, or who sold put options, on the open market from January 4, 2001 through January 14, 2003 (the "Class Period").
Chitwood & Harley LLP is currently investigating these claims. 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 Jennifer Morris at 1-888-873-3999 (toll-free) or by e-mail at jlm@classlaw.com. If you email, please specify what kind of TKTX security you purchased during the Class Period and whether you bought the security on the open market or pursuant to an offering. If you bought in an offering, you may have claims that are not yet alleged which we would be happy to evaluate for you. If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff in this action, you must move the Court for appointment no later than March 25, 2003. Any member of the purported class may move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff through counsel of his or her choice, or may choose to do nothing and remain an absent class member.
The complaint alleges that during the Class Period, defendants made misrepresentations and nondisclosures of material fact to the investing public concerning TKTX's prospects for FDA approval for the marketing of TKTX's Replagal enzyme therapy for the treatment of Fabry disease.
In fact, the Complaint alleges, defendants knew by virtue of their ongoing communications with the FDA that the FDA considered TKTX's data on the primary pain reduction endpoint of TKTX's Phase II study to be uninterpretable, and further that the FDA considered that TKTX's cardiac and renal data did not support approval.
More specifically, according to testimony at the January 14, 2003 Advisory Committee hearing, in a letter dated December 22, 2000, the FDA had advised TKTX that ``the clinical study data (from the Phase II studies) had not provided substantial evidence of efficiency and fully detailed the facts leading to that conclusion. (The FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research) recommended that additional clinical studies be conducted.''
The true facts began to emerge, the Complaint alleges, after the close of the securities markets on October 2, 2002, when TKTX admitted that the FDA had determined that TKTX's data on pain reduction was ``uninterpretable,'' and that TKTX had determined not to rely on that data to seek FDA approval for marketing of Replagal. Rather, defendants stated that TKTX would rely primarily on its data for cardiac and renal improvement in Phase II tests for patients receiving Replagal.
However, at the January 14, 2003 Advisory Committee meeting, the FDA further confirmed that it had informed TKTX that the renal and liver data did not support approval as early as December 2000. On January 15, 2003, TKTX closed at $6.49, more than 85% below its Class Period high.
Motivation for TKTX to make the materially false and misleading statements during the Class Period is supported by the need to sale $267 million in common stock in secondary public offerings during the Class Period and by substantial insider trading. Defendant Richard F. Selden, for example, was motivated to sell 90,000 shares of his personal holdings of TKTX common stock during the Class Period for total consideration of $2,800,000.
In order to serve as lead plaintiff, you must meet certain legal requirements which Chitwood & Harley would be happy to discuss with you. Chitwood & Harley is a class action law firm that represents victims of securities fraud and corporate mismanagement. Chitwood & Harley has been appointed lead counsel in major actions throughout the United States and has been instrumental in obtaining significant recoveries 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 last year's highest settlement 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 LLP, 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.