SEATTLE – Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, a leading consumer-rights law firm, today announced it has filed a class-action lawsuit against manufacturers, marketers and sellers of the dietary supplement Anatabloc, including Star Scientific Inc. (NASDAQ: STSI), Rock Creek Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and GNC Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: GNC), claiming the three entities falsely marketed Anatabloc as a “wonder drug” with unproven medical benefits.

Consumers who purchased Anatabloc are encouraged to contact Hagens Berman by calling 206-623-7292 or by emailing [email protected].

The lawsuit, filed Jan. 27, 2014 by Hagens Berman in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, claims that defendants have never proven any of the purported benefits of the supplement in clinical trials, did not receive U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval for its products, and sold Anatabloc at an exorbitantly high cost with false claims to cure and treat various conditions.

According to the complaint, Anatabloc, a dietary supplement derived from alkaloids found in tobacco, tomatoes, potatoes and eggplant, claims to cure or treat diabetes, multiple sclerosis, traumatic brain injury, arthritis, Alzheimer’s and other chronic, incurable conditions.

The complaint states that a marketing ploy launched by Star Scientific and Rock Creek conveyed false and misleading impressions that Anatabloc was officially and independently sponsored by Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine to promote the product’s “miraculous medical benefits and uses,” while in reality, the school had no role in the studies.

Furthermore, according to the complaint, defendants charged approximately $99 per bottle of the product, despite its inability to cure or treat any of the conditions it claims to alleviate.

The complaint states that Star Scientific’s 2011 Annual Report disclosed that the company focused nearly all of its marketing efforts on the sale of its Anatabloc dietary supplement and face cream, which it later introduced as an antidote for wrinkles in order to win over skeptical investors and consumers. GNC was the first to offer Anatabloc to customers on Feb. 1, 2012 and repeatedly touted the product.

Consumers who have purchased Anatabloc are encouraged to contact a Hagens Berman attorney by emailing [email protected] or calling 206-623-7292.

Additional information about the investigation is available at www.hbsslaw.com/cases/anatabloc.

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About Hagens Berman
Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP is a consumer-rights class-action law firm with offices in nine cities. The firm has been named to the National Law Journal’s Plaintiffs’ Hot List seven times. More about the law firm and its successes can be found at www.hbsslaw.com. Follow the firm for updates and news at @ClassActionLaw.

Contact
Ashley Klann
[email protected]
206-268-9363