Dendreon Announces Securities Class Action Settlement

SEATTLE–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Dendreon Corporation (NAS: DNDN) today announced that it has reached an agreement in principle to settle the securities class action litigation pending against it in the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington. Upon final approval, the settlement will resolve the claims asserted against all defendants in the previously disclosed putative securities class action. The lawsuit is currently pending against the Company and three current and former executive officers.

In the lawsuit, captioned In re Dendreon Corporation Class Action Litigation, Master Docket No. C 11-1291 JLR., an investor, purporting to represent a class consisting of persons who purchased Dendreon common stock between April 29, 2010 and August 3, 2011, sought unspecified damages from Dendreon and three current and former officers of the Company for allegedly false or misleading statements concerning the Company, its finances, business operations and prospects with a focus on the market launch of PROVENGE and related forecasts concerning physician adoption, and revenue from sales of PROVENGE.

The terms agreed upon by the parties contemplates a settlement payment of $40 million, $38 million of which will be funded by Dendreon’s insurers. Dendreon and the individual defendants continue to deny that any statements they made were false or misleading.

“We are pleased to put this matter behind us,” said Christine Mikail, Executive Vice President, Corporate Development, General Counsel and Secretary of Dendreon. “Upon final approval of this settlement, Dendreon will have eliminated the potential distraction from ongoing class action litigation that began in 2011.”

The terms of the settlement must be formally documented and are subject to approval by the District Court following notice to all class members. While the Company expects the settlement will receive the needed approval, the process normally takes several months.

About Dendreon

Dendreon Corporation is a biotechnology company whose mission is to target cancer and transform lives through the discovery, development, commercialization and manufacturing of novel therapeutics. The Company applies its expertise in antigen identification, engineering and cell processing to produce active cellular immunotherapy (ACI) product candidates designed to stimulate an immune response in a variety of tumor types. Dendreon’s first product, PROVENGE^® (sipuleucel-T), was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in April 2010. Dendreon is exploring the application of additional ACI product candidates and small molecules for the potential treatment of a variety of cancers. The Company …read more
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