Despite the controversy surrounding a relationship with departing director Alex Denner, Susan Langer has secured enough investor support to join Biogen’s board.
Biogen shareholders have elected Langer as a new board director alongside seven existing members, according to preliminary results from Biogen’s annual shareholder meetings on Monday. Biogen’s board members are subject to re-evaluation every year. An independent inspector will verify the final voting results, which will be reported later in a securities filing within four business days, Biogen said.
Langer is in a romantic relationship with Denner, a longtime Biogen director who was until mid-June chair of the company’s corporate governance committee. The two have a child together, Stat reported earlier from a court filing, in which Denner is seeking divorce from his wife.
Denner didn’t stand for re-election, but he nominated Langer to Biogen’s board. In a response to Fierce Pharma when Langer was nominated mid-June, a Biogen spokesperson said it was premature to say whether Langer would replace Denner’s position on the corporate governance committee.
The connection between the two, as well as Biogen’s omission of that fact in its announcement, previously drew controversy.
Langer, 32, is the daughter of biotech mogul Bob Langer. She currently serves as president at a startup called Soufflé Therapeutics, and she previously worked for Biogen before leaving in 2020 as head of corporate strategy.
She has served on the board of NextRNA Therapeutics, a company that her father co-founded. But she has no past directorship experience at a public company.
Despite questions about Langer’s fitness for Biogen’s board, the influential proxy advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services backed Langer’s nomination, according to Reuters. ISS didn’t mention the romantic relationship in its recommendation.
Biogen has praised Langer as a “highly qualified” director. She brings “fresh perspective to the board,” the company spokesperson said earlier.
“Her personal matters obviously are much less relevant than what she brings to this board from her professional background and qualifications,” Caroline Dorsa, Biogen’s incoming chair, said during Monday’s meeting, as quoted by Stat.
Besides Denner, Biogen’s long-term chairman Stelios Papadopoulos has stepped down because of an age policy. Two other board directors have also decided not to continue with their roles.