AnorMED boardroom battle heats up

Gillian Shaw
Vancouver Sun
February 08, 2006

The battle for AnorMED's boardroom heated up Tuesday with the Langley company promising it will propose its own slate of directors to counter nominees forwarded by New York investors.

The challenge came as AnorMED released results for its fiscal third quarter ending Dec. 31 that showed a net loss of $11.4 million or 34 cents per common share. Contract research and development costs were up 36 per cent compared to the previous quarter and up 110 per cent over the same quarter a year ago, representing the Phase III clinical trial activity around its lead drug MOZOBIL. The earnings results compares to a net loss in the previous quarter of $9.2 million or 29 cents a share.

AnorMED president and chief executive officer Michael Abrams told analysts in a conference call that an independent committee of the board is working on recommendations that will be contained in a proxy circular to shareholders expected out in March, ahead of the company's April 11 special general meeting. The move follows the board's earlier adoption a shareholder rights plan in the wake of Felix and Julian Baker's requisition for a special shareholders meeting to replace the board with a new slate proposed by the brothers. "The special committee is evaluating the needs of the company going forward, particularly as we make the transition from a drug discovery company to a company that has ambitions to commercialize a product," said Abrams.