Complaint Claims Defendants Engaged in Activities to Intentionally Depress
Share Price
YONKERS, N.Y., Dec. 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --
Advanced Viral Research Corp. (OTC Bulletin Board: ADVR) today announced that
it has filed suit in the Circuit Court of the 11th Judicial Circuit of Florida
charging that certain investors "misrepresented their intentions in investing
in the Company" and "engaged in a series of manipulative activities to depress
the price of Advanced Viral stock." The Company alleges that the defendants
sought to "guarantee they would be issued significantly more shares of ADVR
common stock" as a result of warrant repricing provisions of a September 2002
financing agreement. The Company is seeking a judgement for damages, interest
and costs.
The complaint names SDS Merchant Fund, L.P., a Delaware limited
partnership; Alpha Capital, A.G., located in Vaduz, Lichtenstein; Knight
Securities, L.P., a limited partnership conducting securities business in
Florida; Stonestreet Limited Partnership located in Canada; and Bristol
Investment Fund, LTD., whose principal place of business is in Grand Cayman,
Cayman Islands, among others. The complaint claims that the "defendants have
each, at times acting individually, and at times acting in concert with at
least one or more of each other," engaged in practices that violate sections
of the Florida Securities and Investor Protection Act.
"It is our contention that the defendants precipitated the drop in market
price through their manipulative activities, in an effort to take advantage of
the warrant repricing provisions of the financing agreement," said Eli Wilner,
Chairman of the Board of Advanced Viral Research Corp. "Following the
execution of this financing agreement, our share price declined from $0.18 to
$0.06 per share. We are asking the Court to force the defendants to disgorge
the ill-gotten profits derived from their misconduct, including significant
short selling and dumping. We will aggressively pursue all legal remedies on
behalf of the Company and its shareholders."
Also named as a plaintiff in the case is William B. Bregman, a resident of
Miami-Dade County, Florida, and one of the largest shareholders of Advanced
Viral. The complaint contends that Mr. Bregman suffered losses of
approximately $3.9 million as a result of the stock manipulation scheme.
The suit is related to an agreement, announced September 9, 2002, pursuant
to which the Company issued and sold to certain investors 21,500,000 shares of
its common stock, par value $.00001 per share for total gross proceeds of
$3,010,000, or $.14 per share. The Company also issued warrants to purchase
an aggregate of 16,125,002 shares of the Company's common stock, which were
covered by provisions that allowed for an adjustment of the warrant exercise
price. The complaint charges the defendants with manipulating the share price
to take favorable advantage of these provisions.
Advanced Viral Research Corp., based in Yonkers, New York, is a
biopharmaceutical firm dedicated to improving patients' lives by researching,
developing and bringing to market new and effective therapies for viral and
other diseases.
For further information regarding Advanced Viral Research Corp., please
visit our website at http://www.adviral.com.
Note: This news release contains forward-looking statements that involve
risks associated with clinical development, regulatory approvals, including
application to the FDA, product commercialization and other risks described
from time to time in the SEC reports filed by the Company. Product R is not
approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration or any comparable agencies
of any other countries. There is no assurance that the Company will be able to
secure the financing necessary to continue and/or complete the clinical trials
of Product R or satisfy certain other conditions relating to clinical trials
including obtaining adequate insurance on terms acceptable to the Company. The
Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise the information contained
in this announcement whether as a result of new information, future events or
circumstances or otherwise.
SOURCE Advanced Viral Research Corp.
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Related links:
http://www.adviral.com
CONTACT:
Charles Mayr of Mayr Communications,
+1-877-777-6010, for Advanced Viral Research Corp.
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