SEATTLE, June 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Susman Godfrey L.L.P. today announced that a class action lawsuit has been commenced in the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington against Dendreon Corporation ("Dendreon" or the "Company") and certain of its officers and directors. The action is on behalf of all persons who purchased or otherwise acquired shares of the common stock of Dendreon between March 1, 2007 and May 8, 2007, inclusive (the "Class Period"). The complaint filed in the action charges Dendreon and certain of its officers and directors with violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
If you are a member of the class described above, you may, not later than August 7, 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 Susman Godfrey L.L.P. or other counsel of your choice to serve as your counsel in this action. You may also chose to do nothing an remain an absent class member.
If you wish to discuss this action or have questions concerning this notice or your rights, please contact Ryan Kirkpatrick, Esq. at Susman Godfrey L.L.P. (
Dendreon is a biotechnology company focused on the development and commercialization of therapies for cancer. Its most advanced product is Provenge (sipuleucel-T), an active cellular immunotherapy for advanced prostate cancer.
The complaint alleges that the defendants made false and misleading statements regarding the progress of the Company's Biologics License Application ("BLA") for Provenge. According to the complaint, the FDA conducted a pre-approval Chemistry, Manufacturing and Controls (CMC) inspection of Dendreon's Hanover, New Jersey manufacturing facility in mid- February 2007 and issued to Dendreon what is known as an FDA Form 483, Inspectional Observations Report, which cited various violations of FDA regulations at the Dendreon facility. Pursuant to FDA regulations, the complaint alleges, the issuance of a Form 483 made it highly likely that FDA approval would be delayed substantially past May 15, 2007, the anticipated FDA review date.
According to the complaint, the defendants repeatedly failed to disclose this information to investors and made false and misleading statements, thereby artificially inflating Dendreon's stock price. The complaint further alleges that certain officers and directors traded on this information without disclosing it to the investing public. The complaint alleges that the Company only began disclosing this information as part of its May 9, 2007 announcement that the FDA had issued a Complete Response letter denying approval for Provenge, which letter cited the same CMC issues allegedly known to the defendants in February. As a result of this disclosure, Dendreon stock lost nearly 70% of its market value, causing significant losses to investors.
The plaintiffs are represented by Susman Godfrey L.L.P., a firm with offices in Houston, Dallas, Seattle, Los Angeles, and New York, and which has a significant experience in prosecuting investor class actions.
Contact:
Ryan C. Kirkpatrick, Esq.
Susman Godfrey L.L.P.
1901 Avenue of the Stars, Suite 950
Los Angeles, California 90067
713-650-4349
