Biovail Settles Canadian Class Action Suit; Shares Up

Biovail Corp. (BVF) has nipped another lawsuit in the bud, after plaintiffs in a Canadian class action suit against the biopharm company agreed to be bound by a similar U.S. class action case that was settled last December.

As part of the settlement, Biovail has agreed to pay $138-million to shareholders on both sides of the border, who alleged they lost share value due to misleading information released by the company.

It's been a busy news week for Biovail, with Thursday's announcement following on the heels of Monday's news that former Loblaw chief financial officer Bill Wells has been appointed the company's new CEO, effective May 1, 2008.

On Wednesday, Biovail also announced that it received approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration for its new drug application for Aplenzin, for the treatment of depression in adults.