Spectrum Pharmaceuticals' Top Executives Under Fire for Statements About Fusilev
Schubert Jonckheer & Kolbe LLP today launched an investigation into potential derivative claims on behalf of the shareholders of Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: SPPI), related to the company’s statements regarding its lead oncology drug, Fusilev.
The investigation concerns whether certain officers and directors of the company have breached their fiduciary duties to the company by causing it to make misleadingly optimistic statements about Fusilev sales between August 8, 2012 and March 12, 2013, when the officers and directors may have known that demand for Fusilev was declining due to the increased availability of a generic alternative. After the company issued a press release on March 12, 2013 announcing that Fusilev sales would drop significantly due to the generic alternative, Spectrum’s stock plummeted $4.64 per share, a one-day decline of 37% on volume of 22.5 million shares.
As a result of the statements made between 2012 and 2013, Spectrum’s officers and directors potentially exposed the company to significant civil liability for violating Sections 10(b) and 20(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The company is now the subject of a consolidated securities class action alleging that the company knew that end-user demand was falling but artificially maintained sales through misleadingly optimistic statements. These statements and the resulting litigation may expose the company to millions of dollars in damages, as well as investigatory and litigation costs related to defending the action. On March 26, 2015, U.S. District Judge Lloyd D. George denied Spectrum’s motion to dismiss the action, finding that the complaint sufficiently alleged facts that “when considered as a whole, create a strong inference that the defendants acted with an intent to deceive or, at a minimum, with a deliberate recklessness as to the possibility of misleading investors.”
If you currently own Spectrum Pharmaceuticals' stock and wish to obtain additional information about the investigation and your legal rights, please fill out our form (at right) or contact Dustin Schubert either via email at dschubert@schubertlawfirm.com or by phone at 415-788-4220.
