Plans to Expand Board of Directors to Add CDMO
and Biologics Industry Expertise
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
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