February 3, 2015
By Riley McDermid, BioSpace.com Breaking News Sr. Editor
Seattle-based biotech Acucela Inc. is facing more shareholder insurrection Tuesday after a spate of investors in the company are pressing for the firm’s management to oust four out of five of the company’s board members.
SBI Holdings, Inc., the parent corporation of several Acucela shareholders, said it is now pressing for a new suite of board members in the hopes they will focus more on the biotech’s balance sheet and profitability.
"[The move] is necessary in order to ensure the long term financial viability of the company,” SBI said in a statement. As part of that push, SBI said it wants board members Peter A. Kresel, Glen Y. Sato, Michael T. Schutzler and Brian O’Callaghan out, to be replaced with four nominees of its choosing.
The latest coup comes barely a month after Acucela replaced its CEO, founder Ryo Kubota, to appease upstart shareholders who are looking to overhaul the firm’s directions. In December, Acucela replace Kubota, who owns more than half of the company’s shares, with O’Callaghan, its former president and chief operation officer.
“Today’s announcement is in line with our strategy to advance Acucela‘s business to the next stage of growth and reflects my strong desire to concentrate more of my efforts on the science and vision of Acucela,” Kubota said at the time.
Acucela develops treatments for blindness and other sight-threatening diseases. In 2014, Acucela became a publicly listed company in Japan and raised around $162 million.
BioSpace Temperature Poll
Will Hiring Heat Up in 2015? With companies as large as Biogen Idec and as small as ICON upping their hiring across the board, where do you think the biotech job market will go in 2015? BioSpace wants your opinion!
| Read at BioSpace.com |
