Peregrine Provides Strategic Update - GlobeNewswire
31-Jul-2017 14:30:06
Plans to Expand Board of Directors to Add CDMO and Biologics Industry
Expertise
Search for a Dedicated President to Head Avid Bioservices CDMO Business to
Commence
Continues to Evaluate Strategic Options for Advancing R&D Business
TUSTIN, Calif., July 31, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Peregrine Pharmaceuticals,
Inc. (Nasdaq:PPHM) today announced that it intends to increase the size of its
Board of Directors from four to up to seven members through the addition of
new highly-qualified independent directors with CDMO and biologics experience.
The Company also announced that it plans to initiate a search for a dedicated
President to lead its wholly-owned CDMO subsidiary, Avid Bioservices, Inc.
Lastly, the Company today provided an update on its evaluation of strategic
options for advancing its R&D business.
Addition of Board Members
“We look forward to adding new directors with valuable CDMO and biologics
industry experience and skills to the Board, broadening our overall expertise
and complementing the capabilities and experience of our current directors,”
said Carlton Johnson, Chairman of Peregrine’s Board of Directors. “The
Board and management will benefit from the additional perspectives provided by
new directors who share our commitment to maximizing stockholder value.”
“The Board has played an important role in supporting the growth of the CDMO
business and has provided the management team with valuable insight and
support over many years. This support was critical in allowing us to build a
successful CDMO business while simultaneously advancing our R&D pipeline,”
said Steven King, President, CEO and Director of Peregrine and President of
Avid Bioservices. “As we continue to evaluate a number of strategic options
to sharpen the focus of each of our two distinct businesses and enhance
shareholder value, I am confident that these planned additions will enhance
our ability to successfully lead the Company through this critical process.”
Search for Dedicated Avid Bioservices President
Peregrine also plans to appoint a new dedicated President to lead Avid and
focus entirely on executing the CDMO business’ growth strategy. The new
President will report directly to Mr. King while the company continues to
evaluate strategic options including potentially separating the R&D and CDMO
businesses. The Company believes that the addition of the new President for
Avid and the addition of board members with CDMO experience will strengthen
Avid’s position for future success regardless of the strategic alternatives
the Company may pursue. Mr. King, who has served as President of Avid since
its formation, will continue to serve in his current role until a candidate is
hired in order to ensure continued high level services for its current
customers and to make sure there is a successful and smooth transition to the
new leadership.
Avid was formed in 2002 to service the attractive commercial bio-manufacturing
market. Over the last 15 years, Avid has become a leader in implementing
disposable bio-manufacturing processes at commercial scale for large molecule
API manufacturing. The Company has achieved a premiere customer list,
excellent regulatory track record and strong competitive position from which
it can capitalize on favorable industry growth trends. In fiscal year 2017,
Avid generated revenues of over $57 million and achieved a five-year
compounded annual revenue growth rate of 31%.
“Avid has experienced remarkable and steady growth over the last several
years, and we are taking steps to ensure that it remains well-positioned to
take advantage of the growing demand for biologics and biosimilar drugs,”
said King. “We have a clear strategic plan and proven track-record in our
CDMO business, as evidenced by our investments in the state-of-the-art Myford
facility, our progress securing new customers and expanding our services
offerings, and our recent record financial results. With the addition of a
new dedicated President, Avid will benefit from a leadership team focused
solely on executing its long-term strategic plan of driving growth,
diversifying its customer base and optimizing its operations and
facilities.”
R&D Business Update
Continued King, “At the same time, we are actively evaluating strategic
options for advancing our R&D business. We are working with researchers at
some of the leading research institutes in the world and have seen renewed and
encouraging interest in the bavituximab program from influential key opinion
leaders. We believe recent promising clinical data from our bavituximab
program, in addition to our other R&D assets, strongly supports continued
advancement of the pipeline with the goal of providing patients with new
cancer treatment options. Leveraging the scientific expertise of key opinion
leaders, we will apply great rigor in assessing additional investments and
identifying the best way to move our R&D programs forward.”
“As we recently noted on our fourth quarter conference call, Peregrine is at
the start of a transformative journey, which includes exploring strategic
alternatives,” said King. “We are focused on enhancing shareholder
returns as we capitalize on long-term opportunities available to Avid and
pursue the optimal path forward for our drug development franchise. The
search for new Board members and a new dedicated leader for Avid mark the
first in a series of planned strategic actions that will strengthen the
position of Avid as a more independent and potentially as a completely
independent entity with a focus on revenue growth and increased
profitability. We will also continue to explore the best strategic
alternatives for the R&D pipeline in order to maximize value for
stockholders.”
Peregrine will be working with a nationally recognized executive search firm
to assist in identifying highly qualified candidates for the Avid President
and Board of Directors positions. The Company intends to appoint a President
to the Avid business in the coming months and include the identified directors
in its slate of nominees for election to the Board at its next Annual Meeting
of Stockholders.
About Peregrine Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Peregrine Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company committed to
improving the lives of patients by delivering high quality pharmaceutical
products through its contract development and manufacturing organization
(CDMO) services and through advancing and licensing its investigational
immunotherapy and related products. Peregrine's in-house CDMO services,
including cGMP manufacturing and development capabilities, are provided
through its wholly-owned subsidiary Avid Bioservices, Inc. (www.avidbio.com),
which provides development and biomanufacturing services for both Peregrine
and third-party customers. The company is also working to evaluate its lead
immunotherapy candidate, bavituximab, in combination with immune stimulating
therapies for the treatment of various cancers, and developing its proprietary
exosome technology for the detection and monitoring of cancer. For more
information, please visit www.peregrineinc.com.
About Avid Bioservices, Inc.
Avid Bioservices, a wholly owned subsidiary of Peregrine Pharmaceuticals,
provides a comprehensive range of process development, high quality cGMP
clinical and commercial manufacturing services for the biotechnology and
biopharmaceutical industries. With over 20 years of experience producing
monoclonal antibodies and recombinant proteins in batch, fed-batch and
perfusion modes, Avid's services include cGMP clinical and commercial product
manufacturing, purification, bulk packaging, stability testing and regulatory
strategy, submission and support. The company also provides a variety of
process development activities, including cell line development and
optimization, cell culture and feed optimization, analytical methods
development and product characterization. For more information about Avid,
please visit www.avidbio.com.
Forward–Looking Statements
This communication contains statements that relate to future events and
expectations and as such constitute forward-looking statements within the
meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
Forward-looking statements include those containing such words as
“anticipates,” “believes,” “could,” “estimates,”
“expects,” “forecasts,” “guidance,” “goal,” “intends,”
“may,” “outlook,” “plans,” “projects,” “seeks,”
“sees,” “should,” “targets,” “will,” “would,” or other
words of similar meaning, including, without limitation, statements regarding
Peregrine’s intent to increase the size of its Board of Directors and add
independent members with CDMO and biologics experience, the company’s intent
to initiate a search for a President to lead its wholly-owned CDMO subsidiary,
Avid Bioservices, Inc., Peregrine’s plans for advancing its R&D business, as
well as the expected timing for the foregoing matters. All statements that
reflect Peregrine’s expectations, assumptions or projections about the
future, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking
statements, including, without limitation, statements and guidance regarding
future financial results or operating performance. Forward-looking statements
are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks,
uncertainties, and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict.
Although Peregrine believes that the expectations reflected in any
forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, it can give no
assurance that these expectations will be attained and it is possible that
actual results may differ materially from those indicated by these
forward-looking statements due to a variety of risks and uncertainties. Such
risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to the risk factors
discussed in Peregrine’s Form 10-K for the year ended April 30, 2017, and
other reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Peregrine disclaims any obligation to update publicly any forward-looking
statements, whether in response to new information, future events or
otherwise, except as required by applicable law.
Important Additional Information
Peregrine intends to file a proxy statement with the Securities and Exchange
Commission (SEC) in connection with the solicitation of proxies for
Peregrine’s 2017 Annual Meeting (Proxy Statement) with an associated WHITE
proxy card. Peregrine, its directors and certain of its executive officers
will be participants in the solicitation of proxies from stockholders in
respect of the 2017 Annual Meeting. Information regarding the names of
Peregrine’s directors and executive officers and their respective interests
in Peregrine by security holdings or otherwise is set forth in the Annual
Report on Form 10-K of Peregrine, for the fiscal year ended April 30, 2017,
filed with the SEC on July 14, 2017, and Peregrine’s proxy statement for the
2016 Annual Meeting, filed with the SEC on August 26, 2016. To the extent
holdings of such participants in Peregrine’s securities are not reported, or
have changed since the amounts described, in the 2016 proxy statement, such
changes have been reflected on Initial Statements of Beneficial Ownership on
Form 3 or Statements of Change in Ownership on Form 4 filed with the SEC.
Details concerning the nominees of Peregrine’s Board of Directors for
election at the 2017 Annual Meeting will be included in the Proxy Statement.
BEFORE MAKING ANY VOTING DECISION, INVESTORS AND STOCKHOLDERS OF THE COMPANY
ARE URGED TO READ ALL RELEVANT DOCUMENTS FILED WITH OR FURNISHED TO THE SEC,
INCLUDING THE COMPANY’S DEFINITIVE PROXY STATEMENT AND ANY SUPPLEMENTS
THERETO, BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION. Investors and
stockholders will be able to obtain a copy of the definitive proxy statement
and other documents filed by Peregrine free of charge from the SEC’s
website, www.sec.gov. Peregrine’s stockholders will also be able to obtain,
without charge, a copy of the definitive Proxy Statement and other relevant
filed documents by directing a request by mail to Peregrine, Corporate
Secretary’s Office, 14282 Franklin Avenue, Tustin, CA 92780, by calling
Peregrine’s proxy solicitor, MacKenzie Partners, Inc., toll-free at (800)
322-2885, or from Peregrine’s website at www.Peregrine.com.
Contacts:
Stephanie Diaz (investors)
Vida Strategic Partners
415-675-7401
sdiaz@vidasp.com
Tim Brons (media)
Vida Strategic Partners
415-675-7402
tbrons@vidasp.com
GlobeNewswire, Inc. 2017
nGNXOCSGFa
(C) Thomson Reuters 2017. All rights reserved.The Thomson Reuters content received through this service is the intellectual property of Thomson Reuters or its third party suppliers. Republication or redistribution of content provided by Thomson Reuters is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters, except where permitted by the terms of the relevant Thomson Reuters service agreement. Neither Thomson Reuters nor its third party suppliers shall be liable for any errors, omissions or delays in content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. Thomson Reuters and its logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of the Thomson Reuters group of companies around the world.
