Nuvelo, Inc. - Securities Class Action

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Copyright (c) 2001
Stanford Law School

Nuvelo, Inc. Summary: The original complaint charges Nuvelo and certain of its officers and directors with violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Nuvelo is a biopharmaceutical company engaged in the development and commercialization of acute cardiovascular and cancer therapies.

Specifically, the complaint alleges that Nuvelo misrepresented its chances of obtaining Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") approval of a purported new blood clot dissolver, alfimeprase. The complaint alleges that despite the fact that 80% of Nuvelo's value was attributed to this drug, the Company's top officers concealed that their own clinical data demonstrated alfimeprase was ineffective in dissolving blood clots.

The complaint alleges that on or around December 14, 2005, the Company announced it had received a Special Protocol Assessment ("SPA") agreement from the FDA, claiming that the SPA would solidify the regulatory pathway to approval for alfimeprase. Defendants also stated their "power calculations" demonstrated alfimeprase's efficacy as a drug candidate. During a January 5, 2006 conference call, defendants confirmed they believed alfimeprase would reach the U.S. consumer market by 2008 and that alfimeprase would generate $500 million in annual sales in the U.S. alone. The complaint alleges Nuvelo's stock price surged on this news and remained inflated throughout the Class Period while Nuvelo issued and sold 7.5 million shares of its common stock in an underwritten offering on January 30, 2006, receiving over $119 million in proceeds.

Then on December 11, 2006, Nuvelo disclosed that alfimeprase had completely failed its clinical trials. During the conference call following the announcement, Nuvelo's CEO admitted that alfimeprase failed to perform better than placebos and that previously reported positive results were due to drug injections washing clots away rather than dissolving them. On this news the Company's stock fell 80%, erasing over $800 million in market capitalization.

According to the complaint, the true facts, which were known by each of the defendants but concealed from the investing public during the Class Period, were that: (i) Nuvelo had no reliable clinical data suggesting that alfimeprase "dissolved" blood clots when applied to them through a catheter, other than physically washing them away; (ii) Nuvelo had no "power calculations" suggesting alfimeprase would out-perform a placebo as required to demonstrate the efficacy the FDA would demand; and (iii) defendants knew the decision of Amgen, the drug's original developer, to walk away in December 2004 was based on Amgen's educated suspicion (based on clinical data also known to defendants) that alfimeprase would likely not pass FDA muster and thus was not a commercially viable drug candidate.

As summarized by the Company’s Form 10-Q For The Quarterly Period Ended September 30, 2009, four lawsuits were filed in the Southern District of New York in February and March 2007. On April 10, 2007, three separate motions to consolidate the cases, appoint lead plaintiff, and appoint lead plaintiff’s counsel were filed. On April 18, 2007, Nuvelo filed a motion to transfer the four cases to the Northern District of California. The Court granted Nuvelo’s motion to transfer the cases to the Northern District of California in July 2007. Plaintiffs have filed motions for consolidation, lead plaintiff and lead plaintiff’s counsel in the Northern District of California. Plaintiffs filed their consolidated complaint in the Northern District of California on November 9, 2007. Nuvelo filed a motion to dismiss plaintiffs consolidated complaint on December 21, 2007. Plaintiffs filed an opposition to Nuvelo’s motion to dismiss on February 4, 2008. On June 12, 2008, the Court held a hearing on the motion to dismiss. On December 4, 2008, the Court issued an order dismissing plaintiff’s complaint, and granting leave to amend. On January 23, 2009, plaintiffs filed an amended complaint, alleging similar claims. On March 24, 2009, defendants filed a motion to dismiss the amended complaint. On July 15, 2009, the Court held a hearing on the motion to dismiss. On August 17, 2009, the Court granted in part and denied in part defendants’ motion.

On February 10, 2011, the Court’s January 19, 2011 order was stayed until February 24, 2011. If the Parties do not submit the settlement documents to the Court on or before February 24, 2011, Defendants will submit further briefing on the inadvertent production and will submit unredacted copies of the documents the Court requested on February 25, 2011.

The settlement, in the amount of $8,916,666.70 in cash plus any interest earned, was preliminarily approved on March 24, 2011. The final settlement hearing is scheduled for on June 10, 2011, at 10 a.m., at the United States District Court for the Northern District of California.

On June 20, 2011, the Court issued an Order Approving Plan Of Allocation Of Settlement Proceeds. On the same day,the Court issued an Order awarding attorneys' expenses and awarding compensation for expenses incurred by the Settlement Class Representatives.

On June 20, 2011, the Court issued a Final Judgment And Order Of Dismissal With Prejudice.

On July 6, 2011, the Court issued an Order awarding attorneys' fees.

INDUSTRY CLASSIFICATION:
SIC Code: 2835
Sector: Healthcare
Industry: Biotechnology & Drugs

COMPANY/ISSUER NAME:	Nuvelo, Inc.
COMPANY/ISSUER TICKER:	NUVO
COMPANY WEBSITE:	http://www.nuvelo.com

FIRST IDENTIFIED COMPLAINT IN THE DATABASE

Electrical Workers Pension Fund, Local 103, IBEW, et al. v. Nuvelo, Inc., et al.

COURT: S.D. New York	DOCKET NUMBER: 07-CV-00975
JUDGE NAME: Hon. Harold Baer
DATE FILED: 02/09/2007	SOURCE: Notice of Filing
CLASS PERIOD START: 01/05/2006	CLASS PERIOD END: 12/08/2006
TYPE OF COMPLAINT: Complaint (Unamended and Unconsolidated)
PLAINTIFF FIRMS NAMED IN COMPLAINT:
Law Offices of Bernard M. Gross (Philadelphia) (former) 1515 Locust Street, 2nd Floor, Philadelphia, PA, 19102 (voice) 215-561-3600, (fax) 215-561-3000, bmgross@bernardmgross.com Lerach Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins LLP (Melville) 58 South Service Road, Suite 200, Melville, NY, 11747 (voice) 631.367.7100, (fax) 631.367.1173, Lerach Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins LLP (San Diego) 655 West Broadway, Suite 1900, San Diego, CA, 92101 (voice) 619.231.1058, (fax) 619.231.7423, Schiffrin Barroway Topaz & Kessler, LLP (Walnut Creek) 2125 Oak Grove Road, Suite 120, Walnut Creek, CA, 94598 (voice) 925.945.0200, (fax) 925.945.8792, info@sbtklaw.com _____________________________________________ TOTAL NUMBER OF PLAINTIFF FIRMS: 4

DOCUMENTS FOR THE FIRST IDENTIFIED COMPLAINT
Class Action Complaint for Violations of Federal Securities Laws - Demand for Jury Trial
Type: Complaint		Date on the document: 02/09/2007
U.S. District Court Civil Docket
Type: Docket		Date on the document: 07/20/2007

REFERENCE COMPLAINT

In Re Nuvelo, Inc. Securities Litigation

COURT: N.D. California	DOCKET NUMBER: 07-CV-04056
JUDGE NAME:
DATE FILED: 02/17/2009	SOURCE: Docket
CLASS PERIOD START: 01/05/2006	CLASS PERIOD END: 12/08/2006
TYPE OF COMPLAINT: Second Amended and Consolidated
PLAINTIFF FIRMS NAMED IN COMPLAINT:
Berger & Montague PC 1622 Locust Street, Philadelphia, PA, 19103 (voice) 800.424.6690, (fax) 215.875.4604, investorprotect@bm.net _____________________________________________ TOTAL NUMBER OF PLAINTIFF FIRMS: 1

DOCUMENTS FOR THE REFERENCE COMPLAINT
Notice Of Motion For Consolidation And Appointment Of Lead Plaintiff And Approval Of Lead Plaintiff's Selection Of Lead Counsel
Type: Motion		Date on the document: 08/16/2007
Notice Of Firm Name Change
Type: Notice		Date on the document: 09/08/2007
[Proposed] Order Consolidating Related Actions, Appointing Juan Pablo Cabrera, Frank C. Petronis And Patricia A. Petronis And Todd A. Stephens And Amy Stephens As Lead Plaintiffs And Approving Their Choice Of Counsel As Colead Counsel
Type: Order		Date on the document: 09/11/2007
Withdrawal Of Motion Of The Lidard Group To Consolidate Actions, To Be Appointed Lead Plaintiff And For Approval Of Lead Plaintiff's Selection Of Lead Counsel And Liaison Counsel
Type: Motion		Date on the document: 09/12/2007
Order Consolidating Related Actions, Appointing Juan Pablo Cabrera, Frank C. Petronis And Patricia A. Petronis And Todd A. Stephens And Amy Stephens As Lead Plaintiffs And Approving Their Choice Of Counsel As Colead Counsel
Type: Order		Date on the document: 09/21/2007
Stipulation And [Proposed] Order Regarding Scheduling For Filing Consolidated Amended Class Action Complaint And Related Briefing
Type: Order		Date on the document: 10/02/2007
Stipulation And Proposed Order Regarding Scheduling For Filing Consolidated Amended Class Action Complaint And Related Briefing
Type: Order		Date on the document: 10/18/2007
Consolidated Complaint For Violations Of The Federal Securities Laws
Type: Complaint		Date on the document: 11/09/2007
Stipulation And [Proposed] Order Pursuant To Fed. R. Civ. P. 41(A)( 1)(Ii) To Dismiss Defendant Shelly D. Guyer Without Prejudice
Type: Order		Date on the document: 11/09/2007
Stipulation And Fproposed] Order Pursuant To Fed. R. Civ. P. 41(A)(1)(Ii) To Dismiss Defendant Shelly D. Guyer Without Prejudice
Type: Order		Date on the document: 11/19/2007
Defendants ' Notice Of Motion And Motion To Dismiss Consolidated Complaint For Violations Of The Federal Securities Laws; Memorandum Of Points And Authorities
Type: Notice		Date on the document: 12/21/2007
Stipulation And [Proposed] Order Regarding Page Limits On Motion To Dismiss Briefing
Type: Order		Date on the document: 01/24/2008
Stipulation And Order Regarding Page Limits On Motion To Dismiss Briefing
Type: Order		Date on the document: 01/28/2008
[Proposed] Order Denying (1) Defendants' Motion To Dismiss Consolidated Complaint For Violations Of The Federal Securities Laws And (2) Denying In Part And Granting In Part Defendants' Request For Judicial Notice
Type: Order		Date on the document: 02/04/2008
Statement Of Recent Decision In Support Of Defendants' Motion To Dismiss
Type: Other		Date on the document: 06/10/2008
Second Consolidated Complaint For Violations Of The Federal Securities Laws
Type: Complaint		Date on the document: 01/23/2009
Corrected Second Consolidated Amended Complaint For Violations Of The Federal Securities Laws
Type: Complaint		Date on the document: 02/17/2009
Order
Type: Order		Date on the document: 08/17/2009
U.S. District Court Civil Docket
Type: Docket		Date on the document: 08/02/2010
Declaration Of Mark P. Kindall In Support Of Plaintiffs' Motion For Class Certification
Type: Declaration		Date on the document: 12/15/2010
Plaintiffs' [Proposed] Class Certification Order
Type: Order		Date on the document: 12/15/2010
Plaintiffs' Notice Of Motion And Motion For Class Certification; Memorandum Of Points And Authorities In Support Of Motion For Class Certification
Type: Motion		Date on the document: 12/15/2010
Order Continuing Stay of Litigation to Finalize 15 Settlement Documents
Type: Order		Date on the document: 02/11/2011
U.S. District Court Civil Docket
Type: Docket		Date on the document: 02/11/2011
Plaintiffs' Notice Of Motion And Motion For Preliminary Approval Of Class Action Settlement; Memorandum Of Points And Authorities In Support Of Motion For Preliminary Approval
Type: Motion		Date on the document: 02/25/2011
Preliminary Approval Order
Type: Order		Date on the document: 03/24/2011
Final Judgment and Order of Dismissal with Prejudice
Type: Order		Date on the document: 06/20/2011
Order Approving Plan Of Allocation Of Settlement Proceeds
Type: Order		Date on the document: 06/20/2011
Order Regarding Motion For Attorneys’ Fees And Expenses And For Costs And Expenses To Settlement Class Representatives
Type: Order		Date on the document: 06/20/2011
Order Awarding Attorneys’ Fees
Type: Order		Date on the document: 07/06/2011
U.S. District Court Civil Docket
Type: Docket		Date on the document: 07/06/2011

OTHER DOCUMENTS
Class Action Complaint - Jury Trial Demanded
Case Name and/or Number: Barry Logan, et al. v. Nuvelo, Inc., et al.
Type: Complaint		Date on the document: 02/16/2007

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