Sarissa Capital Disappointed That Amarin Webcast Continues Board’s Defense of Poor Results and Lack of Accountability
February 14 2023 - 05:09PM
Business Wire
Sarissa Believes Amarin Board Missed an
Opportunity for its First True
Engagement with Frustrated Shareholder Base
Sarissa Points to Several Statements Made by
the Amarin Board Which Demonstrate a Complete Lack of Understanding
of the Reality for Amarin Shareholders
Sarissa Capital Management LP (“Sarissa”) today issued the
following statement regarding Amarin Corporation plc (NASDAQ:
AMRN):
Sarissa Capital believes that today’s Amarin webcast was yet
again tone-deaf to shareholders and another display by management
of a lack of accountability for its poor performance. Today’s
webcast was a missed opportunity for Amarin leadership to truly
engage with frustrated shareholders, take accountability for their
numerous missteps and embrace the benefits of shareholder
representation and oversight. Instead, the board astonishingly
contends that they are doing a great job and should change nothing
going forward.
The board made many head scratching statements that fortify our
belief that necessary change will not occur under current
leadership.
- CEO Karim Mikhail stated today: “…we have delivered this year
on every objective we had in a consistent way.” Meanwhile,
shareholders have suffered greatly. In 2022 alone, shareholders
lost >$840M in value due to repeated missteps by
management.*
- CEO Karim Mikhail also stated that shareholder engagement has
been a top priority for the company since day 1 of his tenure.
This is the first time in his two-year tenure that the company
hosted a webcast aimed at its retail shareholder base.
- Board Member Erin Enright indicated they were “quite quick” on
cost cutting, including in the face of an expected 3rd generic in
January 2022. Even after it took Amarin 6 months to announce a
cost reduction plan. This is NOT “quite quick.” Watching weekly
prescription volume does not equal preparedness for a plan to
act.
- Board Member Erin Enright also indicated Amarin’s high
compensation levels in the face of the company’s poor results are
warranted. Unfortunately for Amarin shareholders sometimes you
DON’T get what you pay for:
- CEO Karim Mikhail was paid >$5.8M in total compensation in
2021 when the stock declined >31% and shareholders lost
>$560M in value. †
- Chairman Per Wold-Olsen was granted approximately $1M in
compensation in 2022 when the stock lost >64% of its value that
year. †
- Board Member Adam Berger applauded the company’s boots on the
ground efforts in China. Yet, years after Amarin submitted
Vascepa, it is still not approved in China despite years of missing
its guidance.
- Amarin was unable to secure German reimbursement and continues
to blame external factors without taking any accountability.
Novartis, a global biopharmaceutical company with vast experience
commercialization in Europe had a different view of Germany,
recently stating “…Germany has had some headwinds. But overall,
the German environment, we’d say, is relatively positive and
workable… I think Germany remains [a] most attractive market.”
‡
- Board Member Erin Enright claimed that spending >$7M for
this campaign was necessary given the “diffuse shareholder base.”
Conversely, Sarissa has spent approximately $1M and has
effectively communicated with shareholders, who have shared their
frustration with us on the lack of progress and accountability at
Amarin. Either Amarin does not know how to spend money efficiently
or does not care about shareholders’ money.
Amarin is in dire need of change. It is clear to us that current
Amarin leadership will not fix the problems at Amarin because they
do not believe that any problems exist. This harsh reality for
shareholders was made painfully apparent on today’s webcast where
board members eschewed any accountability for the company’s current
situation and urged shareholders to stay the course – a course that
to date has resulted in tremendous destruction of shareholder
value. Sarissa is Amarin’s largest shareholder. We are long term
shareholders and have not sold any shares since acquiring our
position. We have a stellar track record of success, including in
the cardiovascular space. Our nominees have the experience and
qualifications to help unlock Amarin’s true potential.
We urge all shareholders to vote the BLUE proxy card
“FOR” the Sarissa Nominees and “FOR” the removal of
Chairman Per Wold-Olsen on or prior to the deadline on Tuesday,
February 21, 2023.
If you have not received a BLUE proxy card, you can vote
the white proxy card but you must vote “FOR” all proposals
on the white proxy card to have the same effect as a vote
“FOR” all proposals on the BLUE proxy card. If
holders want to fully support Sarissa, they must make sure that all
“FOR” boxes are marked on your proxy card before you submit
it. If you have any questions on how to vote, we recommend that
you contact Sarissa’s proxy solicitor, D.F. King, by calling (800)
331-7024 or emailing AMRN@dfking.com
#FreeAmarin
Visit our website at www.freeamarin.com for helpful information
about Sarissa and the need for change at Amarin.
The General Meeting of Amarin shareholders is scheduled for
February 28, 2023, BUT TO MAKE SURE YOUR VOTE COUNTS,
SUBMIT YOUR VOTE ON OR BEFORE TUESDAY,
FEBRUARY 21, 2023.
Shareholders should have received the BLUE proxy card. If
you have not received your BLUE proxy card or have any
questions on how to vote, please contact:
D.F. King & Co., Inc. 48 Wall Street New
York, New York 10005 Shareholders call toll-free: (800)
331-7024 Banks and Brokers call: (212) 269-5550 By
Email: AMRN@dfking.com
* 2022 stock performance calculated from end of day December 31,
2021 – December 30, 2022. Source: Bloomberg † 2021 stock
performance calculated from end of day December 31, 2020 – December
31, 2021. Source: Bloomberg. Chairman Per Wold-Olsen compensation
and CEO Karim Mikhail calculated based on corporate filings ‡
Novartis Full Year 2022 Earnings February 1, 2023
Additional Information
Sarissa Capital Management LP (“Sarissa Capital”), together with
other participants, filed a definitive proxy statement and an
accompanying blue proxy card with the SEC on January 31, 2023, in
connection with the solicitation of shareholders of Amarin
Corporation plc (the “Company”) at the general meeting of the
Company for the election of Sarissa Capital’s slate of
highly-qualified nominees (the “General Meeting”). Shareholders are
advised to read the definitive proxy statement and other relevant
documents related to the General Meeting as they contain important
information.
The definitive proxy statement and other relevant documents are
available at no charge on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov and at
www.freeamarin.com. The definitive proxy statement and other
relevant documents are also available at no charge by directing a
request to Sarissa Capital’s proxy solicitor, D.F. King & Co.,
Inc., 48 Wall Street, New York, New York 10005 (Shareholders can
call toll-free: (800) 331-7024).
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230214005865/en/
Jean Puong Sarissa Capital Management LP info@sarissacap.com
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