| Company: | SciClone Pharmaceuticals, Inc |
| Ticker Symbol: | SCLN |
| Class Period: | May-11-09 to Aug-10-10 |
| Date Filed: | Aug-19-10 |
| Lead Plaintiff Deadline: | Oct-18-10 |
| Court: | Northern District of California |
| Allegations: | |
The Complaint charges SciClone and certain of its officers with violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. SciClone engages in the development and commercialization of therapeutics for the treatment of cancer and infectious diseases in the People's Republic of China and internationally. More specifically, the Complaint alleges that the Company failed to disclose and misrepresented the following material adverse facts which were known to defendants or recklessly disregarded by them: (1) that defendants had propped up the Company's results by manipulating SciClone's sales abroad by allegedly engaging in illegal and improper sales behavior that eventually caused the Company to become the subject of investigations by the Securities Exchange Commission ("SEC") and Department of Justice ("DOJ") for violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act ("FCPA"); (2) that SciClone had inadequate systems of internal operational or financial controls, such that SciClone's reported financial statements were true, accurate, or reliable; (3) the Company's financial statements and reports were not prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States ("GAAP") and SEC rules; and (4) the defendants lacked any reasonable basis to claim that SciClone was operating according to plan, or that SciClone could achieve guidance sponsored and/or endorsed by defendants.
SciClone's principal product is ZADAXIN which is used for the treatment of hepatitis B and hepatitis C viruses and certain cancers, as well as for use as a vaccine adjuvant or as a chemotherapy adjuvant for cancer patients with weakened immune systems. Throughout the Class Period, SciClone claimed to have commercialization rights for DC Bead, a product candidate for the treatment of advanced liver cancer in China, as well as for ondansetron RapidFilm, an oral thin film formulation of ondansetron to treat and prevent nausea and vomiting caused by chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and surgery in China and Vietnam.
As investors ultimately learned, the Company's expansion in China, as well as its representations concerning its systems of controls and procedures, were patently untrue. The truth later emerged that the defendants were allegedly engaged in illegal and improper sales and marketing activities in China which ultimately caused the Company to become the focus of a joint investigation by the SEC and the DOJ for possible violations of the FCPA. On this news, shares of the Company's shares declined almost 30% in the single trading day, on unusually heavy trading volume.
If you acquired the securities of the defendants during the Class Period you may, no later than the Lead Plaintiff Deadline shown above, request that the Court appoint you as lead plaintiff through counsel of your choice. You may also choose to remain an absent class member. A lead plaintiff must meet certain requirements.
