Business
Alkermes Issues Letter to Shareholders Highlighting Skills and Experience of Refreshed Board of Directors
Sarissa's Proposed Candidates Would Not Bring New Skills to the Board Recommends Shareholders Vote "FOR" Alkermes' Director Nominees on Company's WHITE Proxy
About this update from Alkermes Plc
[{"type":"text","content":"Sarissa's Proposed Candidates Would Not Bring New Skills to the Board\nRecommends Shareholders Vote \"FOR\" Alkermes' Director Nominees on Company's WHITE Proxy Card\nDUBLIN, June 13, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Alkermes plc (Nasdaq: ALKS) (the Company) today issued a letter to its shareholders in connection with the Company's upcoming 2023 Annual General Meeting of Shareholders (the Annual Meeting), which is scheduled to be held on June 29, 2023.\nThe letter details the qualifications and experience of the Company's refreshed, highly engaged, diverse and independent board of directors (the Board), including the seven directors nominated by the Board for re-election at the Annual Meeting. The letter highlights the following:\nThe Board, as currently composed, is uniquely qualified to support the advancement of the Company's strategy and long-term value creation and, since the announcement of Alkermes' Value Enhancement Plan in December 2020, has taken action to realign the Company's priorities, refine its strategic and operational focus, and effect governance changes to generate value for shareholders.These actions have translated to a share price increase of 49% and outperformance as compared to its peers1 by 61%, the XBI biotech index by 83% and the NBI biotech index by 56%.2The seven directors nominated by the Board for re-election at the Annual Meeting bring extensive experience and deep expertise in a variety of areas that are critical to the Company's continued execution of its business strategy, including financial, capital allocation, management and governance, corporate strategy, transactional, life sciences, scientific, medical, and drug development.The Alkermes directors that Sarissa Capital Management LP (together with its affiliates, Sarissa) is seeking to replace (Richard Pops, Shane Cooke, and Dr. Richard Gaynor) possess a mix of broad-based medical, R&D, operational and strategic skills and experiences.Additionally, the letter makes clear that the Board does not believe any of the three director candidates proposed by Sarissa would bring additive skills to the Board. The Board came to this conclusion following an extensive engagement with Sarissa that included numerous meetings between Sarissa and independent directors of the Board and the Board's Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee interviewing each of the Sa...