Labaton Sucharow LLP is the Court-appointed Lead Counsel for the Connecticut Retirement Plans and Trust Funds in In re Amgen Inc. Securities Litigation, No. CV07-2536 (C.D. Cal.), a securities fraud class action alleging that biotech giant Amgen Inc. (AMGN) and certain of its directors and officers engaged in a scheme to deceive the investing public about the true value of Amgen stock. The scheme centers on statements and omissions concerning two of Amgen's flagship products, Epogen® and Aranesp® -- drugs in a class known as erythropoiesis-stimulating agents or ESAs. ESAs stimulate the production of red blood cells that transport oxygen from the lungs to the tissues of the body and are approved for the purpose helping certain categories of anemic patients (e.g., kidney failure patients on dialysis, cancer patients receiving chemotherapy) avoid transfusions.

In October 2007, Labaton Sucharow filed a Consolidated Amended Complaint against Amgen and the individual defendants. In November 2007, all Defendants moved to dismiss the Complaint for failure to state a claim. On February 4, 2008, United States District Judge Philip S. Gutierrez denied the motion as to Amgen and four current or former executives who were alleged to have made false and misleading statements; the Court dismissed claims against the remaining individual defendants, who did not make any of the statements the Court found actionable. With this significant victory in hand, we expect to begin the discovery phase of the litigation shortly.