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Biotech / Medical : GUMM - Eliminate the Common Cold -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: DanZ who wrote (3812)	3/19/2001 11:42:24 AM
From: StockDung	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 5582

SEC steps up financial fraud review Agency vows to bring high-profile cases By Matt Andrejczak, CBS.MarketWatch.com Last Update: 4:06 PM ET Mar 16, 2001 WASHINGTON (CBS.MW) - Be prepared Corporate America: The Securities and Exchange Commission intends to heighten its review of corporate earnings filings to ensure accounting gimmicks are not being used to inflate revenues or mask potential losses. The agency plans to start with the upcoming wave of annual reports and quarterly reports due out this spring. "This year will bring more high-profile cases than ever before. No company is immune." Charles Niemeier, SEC Enforcement Division At the top of the SEC's list are companies who issued profit warnings in the fourth-quarter of 2000 and the first quarter of this year, according to senior SEC officials. These days accounting irregularities are dotting the corporate landscape ensnaring everyone from Fortune 500 companies to once high-flying technology companies: Lucent Technologies, Xerox, Critical Path, and Microstrategy are among the latest publicized examples. In a recent interview, one SEC official vowed to deliver more. "This year will bring more high-profile cases than ever before," said Charles Niemeier, chief accountant with the SEC's Division of Enforcement. "No company is immune to accounting problems." In the past few years, questionable accounting techniques -- such as so-called "cookie-jar reserves" and "big-bath" restructuring charges -- have come under increased scrutiny by the SEC. Last year the agency brought more than 100 enforcement actions against companies accusing them of financial fraud -- a 10 percent increase over 1999. And the questionable practices have burned investors. The SEC estimates investors have lost more than $80 million over the past eight years, as measured by declining market value of companies embroiled in financial fraud. Revenue recognition No. 1 concern Of chief concern to the SEC is revenue recognition, an area where the agency has stepped up its interpretative guidance in an effort to avoid conflicting interpretations among accounting professionals. Microstrategy (MSTR) , a Vienna, Va.-based provider of e-business software and services, became the poster child for improperly booking revenues last spring. Its top executives agreed to pay approximately $11 million in fines to settle the charges with the SEC in December. The agency is currently investigating company Critical Path (CPTH) for its revenue recognition practices. The San Francisco-based e-mail and messaging solutions restated its fourth-quarter financial results on Feb. 15, sparking a flurry of class-actions lawsuits. The improper booking of revenues is not the only area the SEC will be probing in annual reports and quarterly filings. Robert Blayless, chief accountant of the SEC's corporate finance division, said in a recent speech to securities lawyers that the agency will focus on certain corporate disclosures like market risks, hedging activities, credit risk exposures, loan loss allowances, and valuations on long-lived assets. He said the agency would like to see more companies expand those segments areas so investors can better understand the risks involved, adding that such disclosures have been plagued with "deficient" data in the past. The Numbers Games Accounting gimmicks drew the scorn of former SEC chairman Arthur Levitt in a September 1998 speech entitled the "Numbers Game." At the time, the recently retired chairman attributed the manipulation to the overriding desire of executives at publicly traded companies to meet or beat Wall Street consensus earnings forecasts in order to lift their companies' stock price. Fed up with the hocus-pocus, the SEC not only challenged the accounting industry to uphold the integrity of financial statements but also instituted a nine-point program to improve the existing standards. "We're very sensitive to what the SEC is doing," said Chuck Landes, a director at the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the largest accounting industry trade group. "A number of issues has piqued their concern and we're working hard to help out our accountants." IPO siege diverts SEC's attention As it turns out, the once super-charged initial public offering market prevented the SEC from casting a sharp eye on corporate earnings filings because the high number of IPO filings had become burdensome For the period ending Sept. 30, the agency reviewed more than 1,300 IPO registration statements, a 40 percent increase over the same period in 1999. That meant a company stood a one in 15 chance of having its 10-K reviewed by the SEC. But with this year's downturn in the IPO market coupled with a beefed-up SEC accounting staff, the odds have increased. "We would like companies to have a one-in-four chance of a review," Blayless. "So if initial registrations return to historical levels in the current year as expected, you may hearing from us." Matt Andrejczak is a reporter for CBS.MarketWatch.com.

To: DanZ who wrote (3812)	3/19/2001 2:58:41 PM
From: Mike M	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 5582

Retail sales figures continue to grow: Zicam now in top 5 of upper respiratory medications.... siliconinvestor.com Gel Tech, LLC Reports Strong Retail Sales for Zicam(TM) Cold Remedy PHOENIX, Mar 19, 2001 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Gel Tech, LLC, a joint venture between Gum Tech International, Inc., (Nasdaq: GUMM chart, msgs) a publicly held company located in Phoenix, AZ, and Zensano, Inc., a privately-held biopharmaceutical company, announced today that Zicam(TM) Cold Remedy has become one of the top 5 best-selling cold products in the country. According to Information Resources, Inc. (IRI), for the four weeks ending January 28, 2001, Zicam Cold Remedy was the fifth best-selling product in the entire upper respiratory category when ranked on dollar sales, a 96% increase versus the same period in the prior year. "We are encouraged that Zicam(TM) Cold Remedy has steadily moved up in the rankings this cold season to become one of the top-selling products in a highly competitive category containing thousands of SKUs," said R. Steven Davidson, Chief Executive Officer of Gel Tech. "The fact that Zicam Cold Remedy ranks fifth in a category of over 3,000 products is proof that consumers accept Zicam as a viable treatment that actually reduces the duration of the common cold instead of temporarily masking symptoms like most other cold remedies. Since the end of January 2001, Zicam(TM) Cold Remedy has continued to sell well." Zicam(TM) Cold Remedy uses a proprietary gel matrix to apply an emulsification of ionic zinc, known as Zinullose(TM), directly to the nasal cavity. In a study published in the October 2000 issue of the ENT -- Ear, Nose & Throat Journal, Zicam(TM) Cold Remedy was shown to reduce the duration of the common cold by an average of 75% when taken at the onset of symptoms. Zicam(TM) Cold Remedy was developed by Gel Tech, LLC, a joint venture between Gum Tech International, Inc, a publicly held company located in Phoenix, AZ, and Zensano, Inc., a privately held biopharmaceutical company. For additional information, please contact Michelle Rossow, Marketing Director, Gel Tech LLC, 818-340-3497, mrossow@gel-tech.com or Lynn Romero, Manager of Investor Relations, Gum Tech International, Inc., 602-252-1617, ext. 320, lromero@gum-tech.com. Forward Looking Statement Disclaimer: This news release contains forward-looking statement within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements regarding anticipated sales during the remainder of the 2000-2001 cold season. These forward-looking statements are based on management's expectations and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which cannot be predicted or quantified and are beyond the control of Gel Tech or Gum Tech. Future events and actual results could differ materially from those set forth in, contemplated by or underlying the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations included the possibility that sales of Zicam(TM) Cold Remedy will not be as strong as expected during the remainder of the 2000-2001 cold season due to a variety of circumstances, including an earlier end to the cold season than anticipated, the possible reluctance to build up inventories by retailers anticipating the end of the cold season, a reduction in the incidence of colds, and aggressive marketing of competing products.