Is Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Up for Grabs? Shareholder Suggests a Quick Sale for a Bigger Payday

MKT Capital Ltd, a shareholder with a 4.2% stake in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc AUPH, has issued a letter to Aurinia shareholders with plans to withhold support for three directors at the 2023 annual meeting.
In the letter, MKT Capital explains why Aurinia could fetch $28/share in a sale and why shareholders should withhold votes on Chairman Milne, CEO Greenleaf, and Compensation Chair Hagan.
The Board has diluted shareholders and awarded outsized compensation packages to management in the face of value destruction – including to the CEO, who has been paid $26 million since 2019.
The shareholder noted the potential of the lupus nephritis drug, Lupkynis. But said since the drug's commercialization three years ago, the company has been unable to broaden its distribution or grow sales under Chairman George Milne and CEO Peter Greenleaf's leadership.
Lupkynis is being used for the treatment needs of 1,500 patients three years in, or roughly less than 1% of the total 135,000 patient addressable market in the U.S. alone.
Most recently, Aurinia announced "promising results" from its AURORA Renal Biopsy Sub-Study that showed that the addition of the company's oral medicine for active lupus nephritis, Lupkynis, on top of the current standard of care resulted in significantly earlier and greater reductions in proteinuria while maintaining stable renal function.
The shareholder has concluded that the company should commence a strategic review process immediately to explore a sale of the entire business, which could attract a well-capitalized strategic acquirer or private equity buyer and yield up to $28 per share.
In October 2021, Bristol Myers Squibb & Co BMY had expressed interest in buying Aurinia Pharmaceuticals, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
Price Action: AUPH shares are up 0.79% at $10.80 on the last check Friday.

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