Athira Pharma, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATHA) shareholder Richard Kayne has suspended his campaign to take two seats on Athira's board.
Kayne had sent multiple letters to shareholders in recent months slamming Athira's leadership. The about-face came just days before Athira's annual shareholder meeting on Thursday. Kayne had been pushing for himself and George Bickerstaff, former chief financial officer at the Swiss pharmaceutical corporation Novartis, to replace current board members John Fluke, Jr. and Joseph Edelman.
"Even if George and/or I were to be elected to the board, which at this time is possible, it is clear it would be a very close vote," Kayne wrote in a letter to shareholders Monday. "Without a resounding mandate from my fellow shareholders, I fear the future with me on the board would be very contentious and unproductive, an outcome that I don’t believe would be in the interests of the company or its shareholders."
Former Athira CEO Leen Kawas resigned in October after an investigation found she altered images in her doctoral dissertation and at least four papers she co-authored while at Washington State University that were published between 2011 and 2014. Kawas received a doctorate in molecular pharmacology in 2011 from WSU.
Mark Litton, previously Athira's chief operating officer, took over day-to-day leadership of the company when Kawas was placed on leave in June and was named CEO after she officially resigned.
Kayne had lobbied heavily against Litton, calling him "an inexperienced, ineffective, failed executive."
In addition to letters slamming Athira's current leadership, Kayne launched a website called SaveAthira.com. He was pushing for former GlaxoSmithKline Chief Medical Officer Ronald Krall to take over as CEO. Krall is an adviser to Kayne's new biotech investment firm, Propel Bio Partners, which he launched with Kawas earlier this year.
Athira, founded in 2011 as M3 Biotechnology, has a lead drug called ATH-1017 aimed at treating Alzheimer's and Parkinson's dementia. The company expects to report its most recent clinical data on Alzheimer's during the second quarter of this year and is already recruiting patients for another round of trials, which it expects to have data on during the first half of next year. Athira is also enrolling for a Parkinson's clinical trial, and it expects to complete enrollment during the first half of next year.
"The Athira board is highly qualified and actively engaged in the development and execution of Athira’s strategy," Athira said in a release after Kayne suspended his challenge. "We have the right strategy, as well as the right leadership team and board of directors, to drive Athira’s success."
Athira, which is headquartered in Bothell, is facing multiple class-action lawsuits from investors.
