Milberg Weiss Announces The Filing Of A Class Action Suit Against Biopure Corporation and Certain Officers and Directors on Behalf of Investors.

Business Editors/Legal Writers

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 8, 2004

The law firm of Milberg Weiss Bershad Hynes & Lerach LLP announces that a class action lawsuit was filed on January 8, 2004, on behalf of purchasers of the securities of Biopure Corporation ("Biopure" or the "Company") (Nasdaq:BPUR) between March 17, 2003 and December 24, 2003, inclusive (the "Class Period"), seeking to pursue remedies under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the "Exchange Act"). A copy of the complaint filed in this action is available from the Court, or can be viewed on Milberg Weiss' website at: http://www.milberg.com/cases/biopure/

The action is pending in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, against defendants Biopure, Thomas A. Moore, Carl W. Rausch and Ronald F. Richards. According to the complaint, defendants violated sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder, by issuing a series of material misrepresentations to the market during the Class Period.

The complaint alleges that during the Class Period, defendants represented that Biopure submitted a biological license application ("BLA") to the Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") on July 31, 2002 seeking approval to market the drug Hemopure in the United States to treat adult anemic patients undergoing orthopedic surgery and that in September 2002, the Company received a grant from the U.S. Department of the Army to conduct clinical trials of Hemopure for the treatment of trauma patients. According to the complaint, in March 2003, the Company submitted a

"trauma study protocol" to the FDA in connection with its plans to conduct a Phase II clinical trial of Hemopure for the treatment of trauma patients. Unbeknownst to investing public, as early as March 2003, the FDA informed defendants that the proposed clinical trials could not go forward, citing "safety concerns" arising from adverse data submitted as part of the company's BLA to market Hemopure to orthopedic surgery patients. The complaint alleges that this put defendants on notice that FDA approval of the BLA, which would allow the first commercial distribution, if any, of Hemopure in the United States, was in serious jeopardy and would be delayed beyond mid-2003 as defendants had previously stated to the public. During the Class Period, defendants failed to disclose any of these adverse facts to the investing public, and materially misled investors concerning the commercial viability of Hemopure in the United States and the date by which marketing of Hemopure would commence, resulting in the artificial inflation in the price of Biopure's securities. Defendants were motivated to create such favorable conditions for Biopure's securities to complete two offerings of the Company's common stock during the Class Period, generating millions of dollars in proceeds and further, allowing certain Biopure insiders, including defendants Moore and Rausch, to sell hundreds of thousands of their personally held Biopure common stock to the unsuspecting public for proceeds of over $1.6 million.

On December 24, 2003, the last day of the Class Period, after the market closed, defendants revealed in a press release that Biopure had received a Wells Notice from the SEC, indicating the staff's preliminary decision to recommend that the commission bring civil injunctive proceedings against the Company. Defendants stated that they believed the notice was related to the Company's lack of disclosures regarding its communications with the FDA about the trauma study protocol and the BLA for Hemopure marketing. Further, defendants shocked the market when they disclosed that the FDA had halted further clinical trials of Hemopure due to safety concerns, thereby jeopardizing the marketability of the drug. Defendants also stated that they would respond to the FDA's concerns by mid-2004, thereby delaying the commercial release of Hemopure in the United States, if at all, beyond the mid-2003 target date defendants had previously stated.

If you bought the securities of Biopure between March 17, 2003 and December 24, 2003 and sustained damages, you may, no later than March 1, 2004, request that the Court appoint you as lead plaintiff. A lead plaintiff is a representative party that acts on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. In order to be appointed lead plaintiff, the Court must determine that the class member's claim is typical of the claims of other class members, and that the class member will adequately represent the class. Under certain circumstances, one or more class members may together serve as "lead plaintiff." Your ability to share in any recovery is not, however, affected by the decision whether or not to serve as a lead plaintiff. You may retain Milberg Weiss Bershad Hynes & Lerach LLP, or other counsel of your choice, to serve as your counsel in this action.

Milberg Weiss Bershad Hynes & Lerach LLP (http://www.milberg.com) is a 190-lawyer firm with offices in New York City, San Diego, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Boca Raton, Philadelphia and Seattle, and is active in major litigations pending in federal and state courts throughout the United States. Milberg Weiss has taken a leading role in many important actions on behalf of defrauded investors, consumers, and others, and has been responsible for more than $20 billion in aggregate recoveries. Please contact the Milberg Weiss website for more information about the firm. If you wish to discuss this action with us, or have any questions concerning this notice or your rights and interests with regard to the case, please contact the following attorneys:

Steven G. Schulman
Peter E. Seidman
Andrei V. Rado
One Pennsylvania Plaza, 49th fl.
New York, NY, 10119-0165
Phone number: 800-320-5081
Email: [e-mail]

Website: http://www.milberg.com