Berger & Montague, P.C. Files Class Action Suit Against ViroPharma Incorporated for Alleged Misrepresentations About Generic Competition

PHILADELPHIA, June 4, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --On May 17, 2012 the law firm of Berger & Montague, P.C. filed a class action Complaint against ViroPharma Incorporated (VPHM)"("ViroPharma" or the "Company") and Vincent J. Milano, its President, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of its Board of Directors, in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, No. 2:12-CV-02714 on behalf of all purchasers of ViroPharma securities between December 14, 2011 and April 9, 2012, inclusive (the "Class Period").  This action, which was filed with Pomerantz Haudek Grossman & Gross LLP, is the only lawsuit that has been filed against the Company.

If you purchased ViroPharma securities during the Class Period you have until July 23, 2012 to ask the Court to appoint you as Lead Plaintiff for the Class.  If you want more information about the action or your participation in it please contact Douglas M. Risen by e-mail at [email protected], or toll free (888) 891-2289, or contact the other lawyers listed below.

The complaint alleges that on December 14, 2011 ViroPharma issued a press release announcing label changes for the Company's Vancocin antibiotic resulting from FDA approval of a supplemental new drug application ("sNDA") modernizing labeling for the drug.  The December 14 press release represented that these label changes would qualify the drug for three years of market exclusivity, precluding FDA approval of competing generic drugs , stating: "As a result of today's sNDA approval, ViroPharma believes Vancocin meets the requirements for, and thus has, three years of exclusivity, and that generic Vancomycin capsules will not be approved during this time period."

As a result of the materially false and misleading representation about market exclusivity in the December 14, 2011 press release, the market price of ViroPharma stock jumped $4.21 per share, from a closing price of $23.59 per share on December 13, 2011 to a closing price of $27.80 on December 14, 2011, on heavy volume of almost five million shares.

The Complaint alleged that defendants' representations about market exclusivity in the December 14 press release and similar representations concerning market exclusivity during the Class Period were materially misleading due to the fact that defendants' failure to disclose the fact that to obtain market exclusivity Vancocin would need to meet a statutory standard applicable only to "old" antibiotics (those approved before 1997) which the label changes had little or no prospect of compliance.  That standard, provides that market exclusivity shall not apply to any "condition of use" for which the drug was previously approved.

On April 10, 2012 before the market opened, the Company issued a press release which stated that the FDA informed ViroPharma that the recent supplemental new drug application for Vancocin approved on December 14, 2011 would not qualify for three years of exclusivity based on the agency's position that in order for an sNDA for an old antibiotic such as Vancocin to be eligible for a grant of exclusivity, it must be a significant new use or indication.  The FDA also informed the Company that it was approving three applications for generic Vancomycin capsules.

As a result, at the close of trading on April 10, 2012, the price of ViroPharma shares had fallen $6.17 per share or 22% to close at $22.44, per share on extraordinarily high trading volume.

For more information about this case, please contact

Sherrie R. Savett, Esq.
Carole A. Broderick, Esq.
Douglas R. Risen, Esq.
BERGER & MONTAGUE, P.C.
1622 Locust Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103
888-891-2289
[email protected]
www.bergermontague.com

Berger & Montague, P.C. has extensive experience in securities litigation involving securities law violations regarding drugs and matters concerning Food and Drug Administration law and regulations, including a successful action for violation of the federal securities laws against ViroPharma concerning a drug under development that purportedly reduced the duration of the common cold, which was abandoned by the Company.  Berger & Montague has also successfully litigated actions for violations of the securities laws against Nuvelo, Inc., Hemispherix Biopharma, CryoLife, Inc., Cephalon, Inc., Genentech, Inc., Sepracor, Inc., U.S. Bioscience, Synergen, Inc., Cryomedical Sciences, MediImmune, Inc., and Andrx Corp.

The firm was founded in 1970, is a pioneer in class action litigation.  The firm's 70 attorneys concentrate their practice in complex litigation, including securities fraud, whistleblower and false claims actions and have recovered several billion dollars for consumers and investors.

SOURCE Berger & Montague, P.C.