An activist investor has filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to oust several members of Progenics Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s board.
Progenics is locked in a dispute with asset management firm Velan Capital LP, which has been calling on shareholders to vote against the reelection of Progenics Chairman Peter Crowley and director Michael Kishbauch. Velan owns about 10% of Progenics, a New York-based drugmaker.
Progenics was backed by independent proxy advisory firm Glass Lewis & Co. LLC in July, while Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. backed Alpharetta, Ga.-based Velan in June.
Velan is now seeking permission from the SEC to fill five board seats by removing three elected members and filling two open seats to be vacated by Crowley and Kishbauch, out of a total of seven seats.
The Progenics board is reviewing the SEC filing and will advise shareholders at a later date. The company called the SEC filing "a distracting and value-destructive consent solicitation campaign."
Velan said in a separate Sept. 18 statement that Progenics has failed to engage following a show of support from shareholders for the firm's actions at a recent annual meeting. The firm has recommended five new directors in an effort to seek a substantial change in direction at Progenics.
Progenics develops cancer therapies, including medicines that address tumors of the adrenal gland, prostate and nervous system, as well as imaging analysis technology.
