SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 21, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP alerts investors in Spectrum Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:SPPI) that the firm is investigating possible securities law violations by the Company and its officers.
If you purchased or otherwise acquired securities of SPPI between December 2012 and September 14, 2016 and suffered over $50,000 in losses contact Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP. For more information visit:
https://www.hbsslaw.com/cases/SPPI
or contact Reed Kathrein, who is leading the firm’s investigation, by calling 510-725-3000 or emailing SPPI@hbsslaw.com.
In December 2012, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) discouraged Spectrum Pharmaceuticals from submitting a New Drug Application (NDA) seeking approval of apaziquone (branded as Qapzola) for the treatment of bladder tumors in patients with non-muscle invasive bladder cancer.
Spectrum’s officers failed to disclose the FDA’s recommendation against submission of an apaziquone NDA. Instead, during the Company’s Q4 2012 earnings call on February 21, 2013, Chairman and CEO Rajesh Shrotriya told investors “[o]ur goal is to accelerate apaziquone’s potential registration” and the Company’s COO Joseph Keller reiterated, “as Dr. Raj mentioned, we anticipate filing 2 New Drug Applications in the next 12 months, one for belinostat and one for apaziquone.”
Securities and Exchange Commission filings show that between December 2012 and January 2013, the CEO sold over $5.3 million of Spectrum stock.
On September 14, 2016, the FDA’s Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee unanimously rejected Spectrum’s apaziquone NDA. As a result, the price of Spectrum’s stock fell from its $5.49 close on September 13 to close at $4.85 on September 15.
“We’re looking into circumstances surrounding why the Company and its senior officers appear not to have timely disclosed the FDA’s discouragement and the timing of insider selling,” said Hagens Berman partner Reed Kathrein.
Whistleblowers: Persons with non-public information regarding Spectrum Pharmaceuticals should consider their options to help in the investigation or take advantage of the SEC Whistleblower program. Under the new SEC whistleblower program, whistleblowers who provide original information may receive rewards totaling up to 30 percent of any successful recovery made by the SEC. For more information, call Reed Kathrein at 510-725-3000 or email. SPPI@hbsslaw.com.
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