Shah Capital urges Novavax shareholders to vote in opposition to three administrators By Reuters

By Bhanvi Satija

(Reuters) -Hedge fund Shah Capital on Monday urged Novavax (NASDAQ:) shareholders to vote in opposition to the re-election of three administrators and opposed proposals associated to government compensation, weeks after pushing for a board shakeup on the COVID-19 vaccine maker.

Shah Capital, the biotech’s third-largest shareholder with a close to 7.5% stake, reiterated the corporate was “undervalued and continues to undergo from poor profitability”.

The hedge fund had beforehand mentioned it deliberate to place ahead two of its personal candidates for Novavax’s board, however was unable to satisfy the necessities to take action on time.

“I couldn’t get the shares transferred to a switch agent on time and on that technicality, the corporate refused to appoint my two candidates, which may be very unlucky as a result of I feel they’re extraordinarily certified and what this board wants is a recent perspective,” Himanshu Shah, founder and chief funding officer of Shah Capital Administration, instructed Reuters.

Novavax mentioned in a proxy submitting final week it had not acquired any legitimate nominations from stockholders for its 2024 annual shareholder assembly, scheduled to happen on June 13.

The corporate had raised doubts about its capacity to stay in enterprise, harm by manufacturing snags and regulatory hurdles that delayed the entry of its protein-based vaccine to the market.

Final month, Shah Capital had expressed issues over mismanagement on the Maryland-based biotech and urged it to undertake a advertising technique that targets customers who’re hesitant to obtain mRNA vaccines.

“They actually have performed a horrible job advertising this vaccine,” Shah mentioned, including he believes there may be an unmet marketplace for Novavax’s protein-based vaccine amongst people who find themselves hesitant to take one of many mRNA vaccines for COVID-19.

“Finally, I feel this firm could also be higher off within the palms of a bigger pharma participant,” he mentioned.

The hedge fund mentioned on Monday it plans to vote in opposition to administrators Richard Douglas, Margaret McGlynn and David Mott at Novavax’s shareholder assembly in June.

McGlynn and Mott have served on Novavax’s board since 2020 and Douglas since 2010.

Novavax mentioned it welcomes the views of its shareholders and values their enter.

“We consider we’ve got the appropriate board in place to supervise Novavax’s technique,” the corporate mentioned in its response.

Shah Capital additionally plans to vote in opposition to three different proposals, together with one associated to the compensation of a few of Novavax’s executives.