With sales of Vascepa tanking in the U.S. and Amarin working to get the heart-helping drug to the market in Europe, activist investor Sarissa Capital Management is attempting to oust Chairman Per Wold-Olsen and muscle its way onto the company’s board of directors.
The acrimonious battle heated up Monday as a vote approaches next week. In a letter to investors last week, the company urged them to reject Sarissa’s “harmful” proposals, citing the activist's “track record of value destruction in the healthcare space.”
Then on Monday, the Dublin-based drugmaker cited a proxy advisory firm, Glass Lewis, which backed up Amarin's call to reject Sarissa's effort.
"Glass Lewis recognizes that change led by Amarin’s new board is already underway, and Sarissa representation is not warranted," the company wrote.
Also on Monday, Sarissa clapped back with its own letter, asking shareholders to stick with their original vote to remove Wold-Olsen.
“Do not be misled by Amarin’s tactics to switch votes and do not be confused by the multiple mailings,” Sarissa wrote.
Sarissa also charged Amarin with wasting money in “its self-serving attempts to keep shareholders out of the board room,” pointing out that CEO Karim Mikhail was compensated to the tune of $5.8 million in a year in which the company’s stock price declined by 31%.
Amarin will try to get the last word in Tuesday morning when it hosts a Q&A webcast to answer shareholder questions. In addition to Wold-Olsen and Mikhail, the call will include Adam Berger, the independent chair of the nominating and corporate governance committee, and Erin Enright, the independent chair of the audit committee.
Amarin has been in free-fall since losing patent protection in the U.S. for its lone commercial product, Vascepa. The fish oil derivative hit the market in 2012 to lower triglyceride levels in adults with severe hypertriglyceridemia.
In 2019, Vascepa gained a coveted label expansion to treat patients at risk for cardiovascular issues. The following year, it generated $598 million in sales in the U.S., a 40% increase from the previous year.
But, in late 2020, Vascepa was dealt a blow when it lost an appeal to retain its patent protections on the drug. Since then, sales have plummeted, and the company has reduced its staff in the U.S. by 90%, turning its attention to Europe.
For roughly a year—since Connecticut-based Sarissa became Amarin’s top shareholder—the drugmaker has resisted the investor’s increasingly public efforts to secure shareholder representation on its board.
Amarin says it engaged an independent search firm to find six new board members that it added over the last year. But Sarissa isn't buying it, arguing Monday that the "current regime is wasting a uniquely valuable opportunity."