By Svea Herbst-Bayliss
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Shareholders in Alkermes have re-elected all of the biotechnology company’s directors, according to two sources familiar with the matter on Thursday, dealing a blow to hedge fund Sarissa Capital Management which pushed to put three candidates on the board.
Sarissa, which owns 8.5% of Alkermes, has long criticized the company’s stock price and how the biotechnology company is run, and nominated three candidates, including its co-founder, Alex Denner, as director candidates to the 11-member board.
But investors in the biotechnology company, which is valued at $5.3 billion, stuck by all incumbents in one of the year’s most closely watched proxy contests.
They also ignored the recommendation of influential proxy advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services which had urged they elect one of Sarissa’s candiates, Dr. Sarah Schlesinger, to the board.
Representatives for the company and Sarissa could not be reached for comment.
Alkermes had previously refreshed the board with new directors several times in recent years and has had success in developing and bringing new drugs to market. But it also saw costs climb with SG&A spending as a percent of sales trending higher than rivals.
(Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss)
