Medison Biotech (1995) Ltd. (“Medison”), which together with its
affiliates owns more than 10.4 million shares or 7.3% of Knight
Therapeutics, Inc. (TSX:GUD) (“Knight” or the “Company”),
today noted that Knight CEO Jonathan Goodman is presenting at the Bloom
Burton & Co. Healthcare Investor Conference at 930 AM ET. The conference
is being held at 255 Front Street West – MTCC North Building (Lower
Level 100). Medison urges Knight shareholders to demand answers from
Knight and Jonathan Goodman regarding ongoing governance problems and
the Company’s lack of a coherent strategy to improve shareholder value.
Medison believes the owners of Knight deserve better and should ask the
following questions:
1. Jonathan, you continue to urge investors to hold the stock
for their grandchildren. The current trajectory, however, is downward.
What are you saying to the hundreds of portfolio managers who have lost
money in their position in Knight and do not have 20 years to wait to
see if it works out?
2. It was revealed that you and your family are anchor
investors in chairman Jim Gale's venture capital funds, and that Mr.
Gale is doing a lot of business with an acknowledged competitor of
Knight and with your family. As a shareholder, are you going to vote to
re-elect Mr. Gale? Do you think he is the most appropriate person to
provide oversight of you as CEO, even as you invest in his funds?
3. Did you vote to approve Knight's loan to a company
controlled by Mr. Gale's fund? If yes, why didn’t you disclose to
shareholders that you and your family have an interest in Mr. Gale's
fund? Who initiated this loan opportunity for Knight and can you explain
why Knight pursued a loan without product rights, which is inconsistent
with Knight's stated strategy?
4. Knight loaned $10 million to a Mexican pharmaceutical
company, Moksha8, which distributes mostly generic drugs, and then
further committed to lend up to $125 million. With no product
rights, Knight’s “upside” on this transaction is purely as a financial
intermediary. How does this type of transaction fit with Knight’s stated
vision?
5. Medison estimated in their presentation that Knight’s
entire product portfolio will generate less than $35M in annual sales
five years from now, coupled with continued operational loss. What is
your response?
6. Knight has invested and committed to invest over $300M in
“strategic” funds and loans. Medison estimates these transactions will
lead to less than $1M in annual sales in a few years’ time. Do you still
consider these $300M of funds and loans to be strategic?
7. Samira Sakhia has been reporting directly to you for the
past 18 years. Do you think she can provide the right level of oversight
needed to be an effective director? Are you voting your shares for her
to be re-elected, despite her lack of independence, as recently
confirmed by the two leading proxy vote advisors, Glass Lewis and ISS?
8. You have stated publicly that you will not work for a board
that is not comprised of individuals you have chosen. Are you really
committed to resigning if the current board, which is comprised of your
business associates and close friends, is not re-elected? What
about an independent board scares you?
9. You have publicly stated that you have no plans to divest
your 25% interest in Pharmascience, which recently became a fierce
competitor of Knight. How does a “blind trust” address this conflict of
interest when you are not blind to the fact that you continue to own
more of Pharmascience than of Knight?
10. How much income have you earned from Pharmascience (in the
form of dividends or other compensation) during your tenure as CEO of
Knight?
In addition to Meir Jakobsohn, Medison has nominated five exceptional,
independent directors, who were recruited for their experience,
expertise, and shareholder-oriented mindset, attributes that we believe
the current Board is sorely lacking.
Medison encourages shareholders to view profiles of its director
nominees and read its Information Circular at www.NewDayForKnight.com for
the complete, accurate story about Knight’s failure to create value for
shareholders, Medison’s highly qualified and independent nominees, and
the best path forward for Knight and its shareholders.
TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE
VOTE ONLY GOLD TODAY
If you have any questions and/or need assistance completing your GOLD
form of proxy or VIF, please call Shorecrest at 1-888-637-5789
(toll-free) or 647-931-7454 (collect calls accepted), or e-mail contact@shorecrestgroup.com.
About Medison
Medison is one of the world's largest commercial partners of leading
global biotech companies. Backed by three generations of experience in
the healthcare industry since 1937, Medison is uniquely qualified to
provide the complete spectrum of integrated services for international
companies looking to enter or expand their presence in Israeli and
selected ROW markets. Over the years, Medison has become the partner of
choice for biotech companies that produce highly innovative, cutting
edge therapeutics for commercialization in the Israeli market and is
currently the second largest pharmaceutical company in Israel, with over
CAD 250 million in revenues annually and over 270 employees. Medison
runs a corporate venture arm with a dedicated research and evaluation
team boasting deep scientific and commercial backgrounds. Medison also
operates a scouting program to cater to its partners and is an active
investor in life science projects around drug development and digital
health.
Additional information can be found at www.medison.co.il.
Forward Looking Statement
This news release contains forward-looking statements and
forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities
laws, including, without limitation, Medison’s and Knight’s respective
priorities, plans and strategies. All statements and information, other
than statements of historical fact, included herein are forward-looking
statements, including, without limitation, statements regarding
activities, events or developments that Medison expects or anticipates
may occur in the future. These forward-looking statements can be
identified by the use of forward-looking words such as “may”, “will”,
“expect”, “intend”, “plan”, “estimate”, “anticipate”, “believe” or
“continue” or similar words and expressions or the negative thereof.
There can be no assurance that the plans, intentions or expectations
upon which these forward-looking statements are based will occur or,
even if they do occur, will result in the performance, events or results
expected. We caution readers not to place undue reliance on
forward-looking statements contained herein, which are not a guarantee
of performance, events or results and are subject to a number of risks,
uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual performance,
events or results to differ materially from those expressed or implied
by such forward-looking statements. These factors include: changes in
Knight’s strategies, plans or prospects; general economic, industry,
business, regulatory and market conditions; actions of Knight and its
competitors; conditions in the pharmaceutical industry; risks relating
to government regulation and changes thereto, including in respect of
the regulations concerning board composition, proxy solicitation and
shareholder meetings; the state of the economy including general
economic conditions globally and economic conditions in the
jurisdictions in which Knight operates; the unpredictability and
volatility of Knight’s share price; and dilution and future sales of
securities of the Company. These factors should not be construed as
exhaustive. Certain forward-looking statements contained herein may be
considered to be future-oriented financial information or a financial
outlook for the purposes of applicable Canadian securities laws. Future
oriented financial information and financial outlook contained herein
about prospective financial performance, financial position or cash
flows are based on assumptions about future events, including economic
conditions and proposed courses of action, based on the applicable
management team’s assessment of the relevant information available to
them at the applicable time, and to become available in the future. In
particular, the information contains projected operational information
for future periods which are based on a number of material assumptions
and factors. The actual results of the applicable operations for any
period could vary from the amounts set forth in these projections, and
such variations may be material. Further, there is no assurance or
guarantee with respect to the prices at which any securities of Knight
will trade, and such securities may not trade at prices that may be
implied herein. See above for a discussion of the risks that could cause
actual results to vary from such forward-looking statements. Readers are
cautioned that all forward-looking statements involve known and unknown
risks and uncertainties, including those risks and uncertainties
detailed in the continuous disclosure and other filings of Knight,
copies of which are available on the System for Electronic Document
Analysis (“SEDAR”) at www.sedar.com.
We urge you to carefully consider those risks and uncertainties. The
forward-looking statements contained herein are expressly qualified in
their entirety by this cautionary statement. Unless expressly stated
otherwise, the forward-looking statements included herein are made as of
the date of this news release and Medison disclaims any obligation to
publicly update such forward-looking statements, except as required by
applicable law.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190430005490/en/
Copyright Business Wire 2019