New... TORONTO, May 21, 2013 /CNW/ - Today the group of concerned shareholders of Bioniche Life Sciences Inc. ("Bioniche") led by William (Bill) M. Wells, former Chief Executive Officer of Biovail Corporation, and Greg Gubitz, former General Counsel and Senior Vice President of Corporate Development at Biovail Corporation, announced that they will also nominate Mr. Anthony Macci for election to the Bioniche board of directors.
Mr. Macci has extensive experience in manufacturing and supply chain management relating to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and life science industry (including in the animal health field) and is a strong addition to the six highly qualified nominees previously identified by the Concerned Shareholders in their press release of May 14, 2013. Biographies of all of the Concerned Shareholders' nominees can be found in the Appendix to this press release.
The Concerned Shareholders also reiterated their demand that the Bioniche board of directors cease employing stalling and obstructionist tactics and set a date for a special meeting of Bioniche shareholders to consider the replacement of the Bioniche board with the nominees proposed by the Concerned Shareholders. Mr. Wells has submitted two valid requisitions to the Bioniche board of directors requiring the Bioniche board to promptly call the special shareholders' meeting.
The Concerned Shareholders look forward to sharing their plans and strategies for Bioniche as soon as the Bioniche board properly calls the special shareholders' meeting as required by statute and in accordance with the board's fiduciary duties to the company.
Time is of the essence. The company is hemorrhaging and rapidly running out of resources. Further delay is extremely prejudicial to shareholder value and places the company in a precarious financial and business position. The Board's artificial attempt to circumvent Mr. Wells' requisitions by calling a shareholders' meeting for November 5, 2013 is nothing more than a sham that seeks to circumvent shareholder rights. The Concerned Shareholders, and the company's other shareholders, cannot and will not wait until November 5th. The current board has had years to turn the situation around and has completely failed to do so. It is time to let the shareholders have their say.
It is time for new direction and new leadership. The board nominees proposed by Mr. Wells provide an excellent combination of life sciences expertise, public company corporate governance experience and, most of all, demonstrated success. They have proven they can deliver significant value to shareholders in their past endeavors, as most of these nominees worked together turning around Biovail Corporation to deliver superior results as a highly effective team.
This press release is not, and does not constitute, a solicitation of proxies.