As part of the amended 13D filing, Mr. Payne has proposed to nominate four director candidates and requested to convene an extraordinary general meeting.
SAN DIEGO, Feb. 16, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Arcturus Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ARCT), a leading RNA medicines company, today commented on the amended 13D filing by Joseph E. Payne, who was fired from Arcturus as of February 1, 2018, for conduct that its Board of Directors deemed to be contrary to the best interests of the Company and its shareholders.
As part of the amended 13D filing, Mr. Payne has proposed to nominate four director candidates and requested to convene an extraordinary general meeting. Consistent with its commitment to best-in-class corporate governance practices, the Arcturus Board has initiated a process to meet with the proposed nominees, and will consider the nominations in keeping with this commitment.
The non-employee Board members of Arcturus, Dr. Stuart Collinson, Craig Willet, Daniel Geffken and Dr. David Shapiro, provided the following statement:
| Our unanimous action to fire Joe was prompted by repeated instances of what the Board considered to be poor judgement on Joe’s part, including with regard to mismanagement of relationships with our collaboration partners. Given Joe’s actions, we are confident that we made the right decision. We believe Joe’s decision to advance four nominees outside of the Company’s nominating process is another example of him putting his own self-interests ahead of the needs of Arcturus and our shareholders. | |||||||
| The Arcturus Board is committed to acting in the best interest of shareholders and enhancing long-term value for all shareholders, and will continue to take the actions that it believes will enable the Company to achieve this objective. | |||||||
Arcturus’ highly qualified and actively engaged Board regularly evaluates opportunities to add new directors who will help the Company achieve its strategic objectives. The Board brings a wide variety of healthcare, drug development and commercialization, and financial expertise that is critical to Arcturus’ business, and is committed to maintaining independence and benefitting from a range of perspectives, skills and experiences.
“Arcturus has a strong leadership team and deep bench of talent that continues to drive progress across our ongoing preclinical programs and advance our diverse pipeline of RNA therapeutics,” said Dr. Collinson, Executive Chairman of Arcturus. “We remain focused on enhancing shareholder value and achieving our objective of developing innovative RNA medicines with the potential to transform the lives of patients with serious diseases.”
“Arcturus’ expertise and intellectual property in the field of RNA medicines, combined with its multiple partnerships with industry leaders, position Arcturus for continued success,” said Dr. Shapiro, Arcturus director and Chief Medical Officer of Intercept Pharmaceuticals, Inc. “We are confident in Arcturus’ strategy and growth prospects as the Company continues to leverage its versatile RNA therapeutics platform.”
Additional Information about Dr. Stuart Collinson
Dr. Collinson has served on Arcturus Therapeutics Ltd. Board since May 2014 and has served as Executive Chairman since January 2015. In his role as Executive Chairman, Dr. Collinson has been actively engaged and working closely with Mark Herbert, Interim President, in guiding Arcturus’ strategy, including leading discussions and negotiations with partners.
Dr. Collinson has led and advised multiple successful biotech companies, and brings exceptional credentials in cultivating companies and a strong track record of execution. He is a partner at Forward Ventures and the Executive Chairman of Tioga Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Previously he was Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President of Aurora Biosciences Corp. (acquired by Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc.), and held senior roles at GlaxoWellcome and Baxter International. Dr. Collinson received an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and a Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from the University of Oxford.
About Arcturus Therapeutics Ltd.
Founded in 2013 and based in San Diego, Arcturus Therapeutics Ltd. (NASDAQ:ARCT) is an RNA medicines company with enabling technologies – UNA Oligomer chemistry and LUNAR™ lipid-mediated delivery. Arcturus’ diverse pipeline of RNA therapeutics includes programs pursuing rare diseases, Hepatitis B, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), cystic fibrosis, and vaccines. Arcturus’ versatile RNA therapeutics platforms can be applied toward multiple types of RNA medicines including small interfering RNA, messenger RNA, replicon RNA, antisense RNA, microRNA and gene editing therapeutics. Arcturus owns LUNAR lipid-mediated delivery and Unlocked Nucleomonomer Agent (UNA) technology including UNA Oligomers, which are covered by its extensive patent portfolio (120 patents and patent applications, issued in the U.S., Europe, Japan, China and other countries). Arcturus’ proprietary UNA technology can be used to target individual genes in the human genome, as well as viral genes, and other species for therapeutic purposes. Arcturus’ commitment to the development of novel RNA therapeutics has led to partnerships with Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., part of the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical, Inc., Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited, Synthetic Genomics Inc., CureVac AG and Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Therapeutics Inc. For more information, visit www.ArcturusRx.com, the content of which is not incorporated herein by reference.
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