Hepatitis B vaccine(Merck Sharp & Dohme)

Deep Track Capital, which owns about 13.5% of Dynavax\'s stock, is launching a proxy fight to steer the company\'s resources toward approved hepatitis B vaccine Heplisav.\n After privately vying for a change to Dynavax’s corporate strategy for months, life sciences investment firm Deep Track Capital is publicly launching a proxy fight in a bid to steer the company in a new direction.Deep Track has nominated four directors to Dynavax’s board and sent a letter to other shareholders Feb. 19 announcing its intention to refocus the company’s efforts to its sole approved asset, hepatitis B vaccine Heplisav, rather than what Deep Track calls a “misguided empire-building exercise” of pursuing external asset acquisitions.Deep Track’s senior members first invested in Dynavax about 15 years ago to support the development of Heplisav, according to the letter, and the firm currently owns about 13.5% of Dynavax’s shares.Deep Track outlined several concerns about Dynavax’s current board, which now has 11 members but will drop back down to the previous head count of nine after the elections at the company’s upcoming 2025 annual meeting.These concerns include the fact that none of the board members up for election, including Chairman Scott Myers, has ever purchased Dynavax stock on the open market; that Myers also serves as chairman of three other biotech companies; and that Dynavax staggers board elections rather than putting every member up for election at once.Deep Track’s four proposed candidates include the firm’s managing director Brett Erkman as well as three independent biotech execs: Jeffrey Farrow, chief financial officer at Tarsus Pharmaceuticals; Michael Mullette, interim CEO at Lykos Therapeutics; and Donald Santel, former president and CEO of Hyperion Therapeutics.“In our view, the board’s unwillingness to compromise, coupled with the urgency of addressing the risk that the company squanders its cash, warrants this level of change,” Deep Track wrote.Since 2021, Dynavax’s board has instructed management to seek out external assets to purchase, Deep Track detailed in the letter. However, “these efforts have yielded nothing, and we believe continuing this effort will only further distract management from growing Heplisav,” the investment firm said.Dynavax came out with a lengthy statement and attacked Deep Track Wednesday night. In the release, the biopharma said that the firm, \"and in particular its founder, David Kroin, have become fixated on a strategy for Dynavax based on significantly flawed financial and strategic assumptions.\" It said that whilst it had been attempting to work with Deep Track, the firm had instead been \"insistent on a value destructive plan,\" that included \"abandoning portfolio diversification\" and running what it called a \"strip-mining plan.\"That plan is being seen through, Dynavax argues, by this attempted change of board members. The company argues that it already has since August been seeking out new directors \"as part of its ongoing refreshment program.\" The biopharma added that Deep Track initially proposed three new directors, but that Dynavax only saw one as being \"additive to the Board.\" Dynavax said its board sees the proxy contest as \"unreasonable,\" but that it still \"remains committed to constructive and reasonable engagement with Deep Track, while ensuring that the best interests of all stockholders—not only those of Mr. Kroin and his fund—are protected and represented.\" Heplisav was approved in 2017 and is projected to generate more than $1 billion through 2030, according to Deep Track. Dynavax has two other vaccines currently in development: a wholly owned vaccine for shingles and a Department of Defense-partnered vaccine for plague. Deep Track made no mention of either candidate in its letter.Another early-stage asset, a combination vaccine for tetanus, diphtheria and acellular pertussis, was dropped in November 2024 after phase 1 data failed to impress.Last month, Dynavax revealed changes to its board that it said were part of a \"refreshment program.\" These include appointing Emilio Emini, Ph.D., and Lauren Silvernail to the board as well as seeking shareholder approval to phase out Dynavax\'s staggered board elections.Deep Track called these changes \"reactive,\" noting that Silvernail is connected to Myers through Harpoon Therapeutics just like the board member she is replacing, Julie Eastland. The firm also expressed concern that changes to the board\'s election structure, so that all board seats come up for election at the same time, won\'t be fully implemented until 2028.Dynavax reports its full-year 2024 results Feb. 20. 

Appoints Emilio Emini and Lauren Silvernail to Board of Directors; Two Directors to Step Down at 2025 Annual Meeting Intends to Seek Stockholder Approval for Declassification of Board at 2025 Annual Meeting EMERYVILLE, Calif., Jan. 27, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Dynavax Technologies Corporation (Nasdaq: DVAX) (the "Company"), a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company developing and commercializing innovative vaccines, today announced the following changes to its Board of Directors as part of its ongoing refreshment program: Emilio Emini, Ph.D. and Lauren Silvernail have been appointed to the Board, effective February 3, 2025. Dr. Emini will serve as a Class III director with an initial term expiring at the Company's 2027 Annual Meeting and Ms. Silvernail will serve as a Class I director with an initial term expiring at the Company's 2025 Annual Meeting. Peggy Phillips, who has served on the Dynavax Board since 2006, will retire from the Board at the 2025 Annual Meeting. Julie Eastland will step down from the Board at the 2025 Annual Meeting given her recent appointment as chief executive officer of another public company. The Board expects to appoint Ms. Silvernail as Chair of the Audit Committee and Scott Myers as Chair of the Compensation Committee following the 2025 Annual Meeting. The Board intends to seek stockholder approval at the 2025 Annual Meeting for the declassification of the Board. If stockholders approve the proposal, directors standing for election at the Company's 2026 Annual Meeting and thereafter will stand for one-year terms. Beginning with the Company's 2028 Annual Meeting, all directors will stand for election annually. Following the 2025 Annual Meeting, the Board will be comprised of nine directors, with six of its eight independent directors having been appointed since 2020. "Emilio and Lauren are two renowned leaders in their respective fields and we expect that their tremendous expertise will be immediately additive as the Company continues to execute its strategic plan and deliver for our stakeholders. Emilio has been at the forefront of some of the most notable vaccines and brings a unique perspective at the intersection of R&D, academia and public health and Lauren brings a track record of financial and operational prowess and board leadership experience within the biopharma space," said Scott Myers, Chairman of the Dynavax Board of Directors. "On behalf of the Board, I want to extend my gratitude to Peggy and Julie who have made innumerable contributions to Dynavax's growth and success over the years. Our ongoing efforts to refresh our Board with fresh perspective and expertise and enhance our governance profile are key pillars of our commitment to support Dynavax's long-term growth objectives and the changes announced today underscore this commitment." Dr. Emini said, "Dynavax has an important mission, one that I firmly share, and I am excited to work alongside the Board and the Dynavax team, a group of world-class innovators and scientists serving patients globally." Ms. Silvernail said, "Dynavax is a clear category leader with its lead asset, HEPLISAV-B, and I am eager to work with the Board to help advance the Company's strategic and financial initiatives to capitalize on its positive momentum." "We have started 2025 with strong momentum, achieving record annual revenue for HEPLISAV-B in 2024 and advancing our pipeline programs, while returning capital to our stockholders with our active $200 million share repurchase program. Through the execution of our strategic growth pillars with discipline and rigor, we will continue to focus on delivering value for our stockholders and other stakeholders, and I am looking forward to working alongside Emilio and Lauren as we look to capture the significant opportunities ahead," said Ryan Spencer, Chief Executive Officer of Dynavax. About Emilio Emini Dr. Emini brings over 40 years of experience as an executive and academic across the biopharmaceutical industry and global public health roles, helping to develop and deliver multiple anti-infectious disease interventions. Prior to his retirement, Dr. Emini served as Chief Executive Officer of the Bill & Melinda Gates Medical Research Institute and as the Director of the Foundation's Tuberculosis and HIV Programs. At the Merck Research Laboratories, from 1983 to 2004, Dr. Emini led the biological research that developed the first highly active antiretroviral therapies for HIV and led multiple vaccine research teams that contributed to many successful developments, including the vaccines for human papillomavirus and rotavirus. Following a two-year leave from the industry at the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, Dr. Emini joined Wyeth/Pfizer as the Senior Vice President of Vaccine R&D where he led the development of the Prevenar 13® vaccine for prevention of pneumococcal disease. Dr. Emini holds a Bachelor of Science from Manhattan College and a Ph.D. in Microbiology from the Cornell University Graduate School of Medicine. About Lauren Silvernail Ms. Silvernail has three decades of experience leading finance and business development functions across the pharmaceutical industry. She most recently served as Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President of Corporate Development of Evolus, Inc., from 2018 until her retirement in 2022, where she led fundraising, financial and partnership activities including establishing the infrastructure for the U.S. commercial launch of the company's first approved product. Previously, she served as Chief Financial Officer and Chief Business Officer at Revance Therapeutics, Inc., where she led the company's initial public offering and subsequent rounds of financing. Prior to that, Ms. Silvernail was Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President of Corporate Development at ISTA Pharmaceuticals until its sale to Bausch & Lomb. Prior to that, she held corporate development roles at Allergan and other companies. Ms. Silvernail is currently a director and Audit Committee Chair of Harrow and previously served as a director and Audit Committee Chair at Harpoon Therapeutics until its successful sale to Merck and a director and Corporate Governance Committee chair at Nicox S.A. She earned an M.B.A. in finance and accounting from the Anderson Graduate School of Management at UCLA, and a B.A. in Biophysics from the University of California, Berkeley. About Dynavax Dynavax is a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company developing and commercializing innovative vaccines to help protect the world against infectious diseases. The Company has two commercial products, HEPLISAV-B® vaccine [Hepatitis B Vaccine (Recombinant), Adjuvanted], which is approved in the U.S., the European Union and Great Britain for the prevention of infection caused by all known subtypes of hepatitis B virus in adults 18 years of age and older, and CpG 1018® adjuvant, currently used in HEPLISAV-B and multiple adjuvanted COVID-19 vaccines. For more information about our marketed products and development pipeline, visit . Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains "forward-looking" statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, which are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. All statements that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements can generally be identified by the use of words such as "anticipate," "believe," "continue," "could," "estimate," "expect," "forecast," "intend," "will," "may," "plan," "project," "potential," "seek," "should," "think," "toward," "will," "would" and similar expressions, or the negatives thereof, or they may use future dates. Forward-looking statements made in this document include statements regarding the Company's plans to submit a declassification proposal at its 2025 Annual Meeting, expected contributions from newly appointed directors, the planned resignation of certain directors, anticipated committee appointments, expectations regarding delivering value for our stockholders, and our future growth and long-term performance. Actual results may differ materially from those set forth in this press release due to the risks and uncertainties inherent in our business, including, the risk that circumstances surrounding or leading up to our 2025 Annual Meeting may change, risks relating to our ability to commercialize and supply HEPLISAV-B, and risks related to the implementation of our long-term growth objectives, as well as other risks detailed in the "Risk Factors" section of our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the three months ended September 30, 2024 and periodic filings made thereafter, as well as discussions of potential risks, uncertainties and other important factors in our other filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof, are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement and we undertake no obligation to revise or update information herein to reflect events or circumstances in the future, even if new information becomes available. Information on Dynavax's website at is not incorporated by reference in our current periodic reports with the SEC. For Investors/Media: Paul Cox [email protected] 510-665-0499 Nicole Arndt [email protected] 510-665-7264 SOURCE Dynavax Technologies WANT YOUR COMPANY'S NEWS FEATURED ON PRNEWSWIRE.COM? 440k+ Newsrooms & Influencers 9k+ Digital Media Outlets 270k+ Journalists Opted In GET STARTED