Sarissa's Denner quits Biogen board as firm seeks seats at Alkermes

Alkermes

13/06/2023 18:43

By Svea Herbst-Bayliss
       NEW YORK, June 13 (Reuters) - Activist investor Sarissa
Capital may have cleared a stumbling block in its push for board
seats at Alkermes  ALKS.O  when one of its candidates resigned
from the board of a company that has a commercial relationship
with the drugmaker.
    The hedge fund's founder, Alex Denner, one of three Sarissa
candidates running for seats on Alkermes' 11-member board, said
this week that he will give up his board seat at biotech Biogen
 BIIB.O .
    The move eliminates "any claim of conflict whatsoever,"
Sarissa wrote to Alkermes shareholders on Tuesday morning.
    Alkermes licensed bipolar disorder treatment Lybalvi and the
multiple sclerosis drug Vumerity to Biogen for
commercialization, and some analysts worried it would be
problematic for Denner to potentially sit on both companies'
boards.
    Sarissa owns 8.45% of Alkermes, which is valued at $5.2
billion. This is the third time the firm is mounting a
challenge. In 2021, Sarissa and Alkermes reached an agreement to
add a new director. Last year Sarissa dropped a board challenge,
and this year it has nominated three candidates.
    The hedge fund is criticizing the performance of Alkermes'
stock, which has lost 38% over the last five years. But it has
gained 49% since a value enhancement plan establishing
profitability targets was announced in late 2020, and is up 21%
since January.
    Alkermes is urging shareholders to stick with its current
directors and not elect any Sarissa candidate. The company said
Denner, who earned advanced degrees in mechanical engineering,
does not bring relevant skills to the board, and that it already
has an investor representative on its board after settling with
hedge fund Elliott Management in 2020.
    Shareholders will vote on directors on June 29 in what is
one of the year's five biggest boardroom challenges.     

 (Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss
Editing by Bill Berkrot)
 ((svea.herbst@thomsonreuters.com; +617 856 4331; Reuters
Messaging: svea.herbst.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))