LOS ANGELES, April 9 (Reuters) - Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc said on Thursday that Howard Greene, its former chief executive, resigned from the company's board on Tuesday following a decision not to nominate him for reelection.
Amylin, which has become the object of a proxy fight, said in a filing that Greene disagreed with the board's decision to limit the number of former CEOs who are directors.
Billionaire investor Carl Icahn this week filed preliminary proxy material in an effect to elect five handpicked nominees to the company's board.
That action followed last week's proxy filing by Eastbourne Capital management naming five nominees it hopes to have elected to the 12-person Amylin board, setting up a three-way proxy battle for control of the company, which makes the diabetes drug Byetta.
'Many shareholders expressed an interest in having more commercial and operational expertise in the biopharmaceutical industry on the board,' Amylin said in a regulatory filing on Thursday.
The company said two of its directors who are former CEOs, including Greene, were not nominated for reelection.
'Even if I agreed, the obvious and appropriate choice to not stand for election would be our chairman, who has presided over the loss of shareholder value that sparked the proxy fight,' Greene said in his resignation letter.
Amylin's current chairman is Joseph Cook, the company's CEO from March 1998 to September 2003.
Icahn's nominees are Dr Alexander Denner, 39, Dr Thomas Deuel, 74, Jules Haimovitz, 58, Dr Peter Liebert, 73, and Dr David Sidransky, 48.
Byetta, marketed in partnership with Eli Lilly, was launched in 2005 and generated sales in 2008 of $751 million. But sales have slowed due to concern it may be associated with pancreatitis, a potentially deadly inflammation of the pancreas. Keywords: AMYLIN/ (Reporting by Deena Beasley; Editing by Bernard Orr, deena.beasley@thomsonreuters.com; 1-213-955-6746; Reuters Messaging: deena.beasley.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
Amylin, which has become the object of a proxy fight, said in a filing that Greene disagreed with the board's decision to limit the number of former CEOs who are directors.
Billionaire investor Carl Icahn this week filed preliminary proxy material in an effect to elect five handpicked nominees to the company's board.
That action followed last week's proxy filing by Eastbourne Capital management naming five nominees it hopes to have elected to the 12-person Amylin board, setting up a three-way proxy battle for control of the company, which makes the diabetes drug Byetta.
'Many shareholders expressed an interest in having more commercial and operational expertise in the biopharmaceutical industry on the board,' Amylin said in a regulatory filing on Thursday.
The company said two of its directors who are former CEOs, including Greene, were not nominated for reelection.
'Even if I agreed, the obvious and appropriate choice to not stand for election would be our chairman, who has presided over the loss of shareholder value that sparked the proxy fight,' Greene said in his resignation letter.
Amylin's current chairman is Joseph Cook, the company's CEO from March 1998 to September 2003.
Icahn's nominees are Dr Alexander Denner, 39, Dr Thomas Deuel, 74, Jules Haimovitz, 58, Dr Peter Liebert, 73, and Dr David Sidransky, 48.
Byetta, marketed in partnership with Eli Lilly, was launched in 2005 and generated sales in 2008 of $751 million. But sales have slowed due to concern it may be associated with pancreatitis, a potentially deadly inflammation of the pancreas. Keywords: AMYLIN/ (Reporting by Deena Beasley; Editing by Bernard Orr, deena.beasley@thomsonreuters.com; 1-213-955-6746; Reuters Messaging: deena.beasley.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.