Cohen, Milstein, Hausfeld & Toll, P.L.L.C. Announces Corrected Class Period for Lawsuit on Behalf of Investors in Biopure Corporation.

Business Editors & Legal Writers

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 12, 2004

The law firm of Cohen, Milstein, Hausfeld & Toll, P.L.L.C. has filed a class action lawsuit in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts on behalf of all persons who acquired securities of Biopure Corporation (NasdaqNM:BPUR) ("Biopure"or the "Company"), between March 5, 2003 and December 24, 2003 (the "Class Period"), inclusive. Cohen Milstein's prior press release of January 8, 2004, identified a class period beginning March 17, 2003.

The complaint names as defendants Biopure, Thomas A. Moore, Carl W. Rausch, and Ronald F. Richards, alleging that they violated Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder. The complaint alleges that defendants issued a number of positive statements regarding the progress of Biopure's application for regulatory approval to market Hemopure in the United States, which was submitted to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ("FDA"). Hemopure is a drug for patients undergoing orthopedic surgery. In fact, by the beginning of the Class Period, the FDA had informed defendants of flaws in the Hemopure application, making FDA approval highly unlikely, including "safety concerns" arising from adverse clinical data submitted as part of the Company's application. Yet, before defendants disclosed these adverse facts, they conducted at least two offerings of Biopure common stock and generated millions of dollars in proceeds. Additionally, certain high-level Biopure insiders sold hundreds of thousands of Biopure common shares at artificially inflated prices.

On December 24, 2003, after the SEC threatened civil litigation, defendants surprised the market when they announced the truth, that, in fact, the FDA had halted further clinical trials of Hemopure due to safety concerns. Defendants also announced that Hemopure's commercial release in the United States would be delayed beyond mid-2004. The market promptly reacted to this announcement. Biopure common shares lost over 16% of their value on December 26, 2003, to close at $2.43 per share. This was a decline of more than 239% from the stock's Class Period high of $8.25 per share, reached on or about August 21, 2003.

If you purchased Biopure publicly traded securities between March 5, 2003 and December 24, 2003, you may, no later than March 1, 2004, move the court to be appointed as Lead Plaintiff. There are certain legal requirements to serve as Lead Plaintiff.

Any member of the purported class may move the court to serve as Lead Plaintiff through counsel of their choice or may choose to remain an absent class member. Your ability to share in any recovery is not, however, affected by the decision whether or not to serve as Lead Plaintiff. To be a member of the class, you need not take any action at this time.

Cohen, Milstein, Hausfeld & Toll, P.L.L.C. has significant experience in prosecuting investor class actions and actions involving securities fraud. The firm has offices in Washington, D.C., Seattle, New York and Chicago, and is active in major litigation pending in federal and state courts throughout the nation. You may visit the firm's website at

The firm's reputation for excellence has been recognized on repeated occasions by courts which have appointed the firm to lead positions in complex multi-district or consolidated litigation. Cohen, Milstein, Hausfeld & Toll, P.L.L.C. has taken a lead role in numerous important cases on behalf of defrauded investors, and has been responsible for a number of outstanding recoveries which, in the aggregate, total in the billions of dollars.

If you have any questions about this notice or the action, or with regard to your rights, please contact either of the following:

Steven J. Toll, Esq.

Robert Smits

Cohen, Milstein, Hausfeld & Toll, P.L.L.C.

1100 New York Avenue, N.W.

West Tower - Suite 500

Washington, D.C. 20005

Telephone: [phone] or [phone]

E-mail:[e-mail] or [e-mail]