CHICAGO, Sept. 23, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- Much Shelist Freed Denenberg Ament & Rubenstein, P.C. announces that class action lawsuits are pending in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia on behalf of purchasers of the securities of First Horizon Pharmaceutical Corporation. (Nasdaq:FHRX) ("First Horizon" or the "Company") between April 24, 2002 and July 2, 2002, inclusive ("Class Period").
It has been alleged that First Horizon and certain of its officers and directors violated the federal securities laws by issuing a series of materially false and misleading statements to the market -- artificially inflating the market price of First Horizon securities. Defendants include: First Horizon Pharmaceutical Corporation, Mahendra G. Shah, John N. Kapoor, Balaji Venkataraman, Jon S. Saxe, Pierre Lapalme, Jerry N. Ellis, and the underwriters of First Horizon's April 24, 2002 secondary stock offering: Banc of America Securities LLC, JP Morgan Thomas Weisel Partners LLC, and Lasalle Capital Markets.
Much Shelist is currently investigating these claims. If you wish to discuss your rights and interests, or if you have information relevant to the lawsuit, you may contact Carol V. Gilden or Michael E. Moskovitz at Much Shelist Freed Denenberg Ament & Rubenstein, P.C., by calling a toll-free number 1-800-470-6824, or by sending an e-mail to investorhelp@muchshelist.com. Your e-mail should refer to First Horizon.
According to the complaint, on April 24, 2002, First Horizon completed a public offering of securities, selling 6.5 million shares of common stock at an offering price of $21.75 per share, pursuant to a Prospectus declared effective by the SEC on April 18, 2002. It is alleged that the Company failed to disclose material information in the Prospectus relating to Tanafed Suspension (a pediatric liquid and allergy product) and Prenate GT (a prescription prenatal vitamin). The Company touted the market for these products highly in its Prospectus. However, the market for these products was severely declining and defendants had flooded wholesalers with Prenate GT inventory in the first quarter of 2002 in order to report strong sales prior to the secondary offering. Belatedly, defendants disclosed that, due to price erosion arising from generic competition, First Horizon's products had not been widely accepted by the market. In addition, sales growth from the Company's newly acquired "Sular" drug line had failed to yield strong results, and a promised redeployment of First Horizon's sales force similarly failed to boost First Horizon's bottom line.
On July 2, 2002, the Company shocked the market by revealing that for the second quarter of 2002, the Company expected to report revenues of between $25 and $26 million, and earnings per share between $0.00 and $0.02, excluding a $2.2 million debt write-off. For the full year, First Horizon revised its guidance to $0.34 a share, a far cry from its earlier guidance of $0.56 to $0.57 a share. A July 2, 2002 press release attributed the massive shortfall mainly to "greater than expected erosion of sales in the second quarter" of Tanafed and Prenate GT, as well as "distraction" arising out of a sales force "realignment." As a result of the Company's misrepresentations, First Horizon investors have sustained tremendous losses, and stand to lose much more as the Company's financial condition continues to decline. If you purchased First Horizon securities during the Class Period, and if you meet certain other legal requirements, you may file a motion in the court where the lawsuit has been filed to serve as a lead plaintiff. You must file your motion no later than October 30, 2002.
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. The requirements for serving as a lead plaintiff are set forth in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. Section 78u-4).
Much Shelist's history is one of experience, leadership and results. For more than 25 years, Much Shelist has represented plaintiffs in class action litigation in federal and state courts across the United States. The firm has successfully prosecuted cases involving securities fraud, antitrust violations, consumer fraud, unlawful business practices and insurance company fraud. Under Much Shelist's leadership, class members have obtained judgments and settlements in excess of $4 billion.
More information on this and other class actions can be found on the Class Action Newsline at http://www.primezone.com/ca