Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Aug 5 Letter To Dendreon's Richard Brewer
Aug 5 Letter To Dendreon's Richard Brewer
of
Brad
Loncar
P.O.
Box
15072
Lenexa,
KS
66285
(202)
213-9198
August 5, 2011 Mr. Richard B. Brewer Chairman of the Board Dendreon Corporation 3005 First Avenue Seattle, WA 98121 (877) 256-4545 Dear Mr. Brewer: Just over five months ago I wrote to you expressing serious concerns about the composition of the board of directors and its oversight of Dendreons management. I appreciated the opportunity to discuss these views in person with management at company headquarters in May, and to briefly speak with you at the June annual shareholder meeting. In the meantime, Dendreon has experienced one of the most sudden and significant erosions of shareholder value in recent memory. However, the consequences of this misfortune extend well beyond shareholder interests. Employees have been abruptly laid off, press reports are tarnishing Dendreons brand reputation with each passing day, and many experts have even speculated that this might diminish investor appetite for our nations biotech industry as a whole. It is hard to believe that the company that produces one of the most innovative and groundbreaking treatments on the market could have triggered such a debacle. All of Dendreons stakeholders deserve much better. I hope you will see why it is so critical for Dendreon to quickly act and put this innovative company back on the path to success that it deserves. While there is no quick answer to all of the questions facing the company, an immediate boost of confidence is greatly needed. The clearest way to accomplish that is a change in personnel. Therefore, I renew the call for Dendreon to nominate one or two new board members who come from the ranks of outside shareholders and are outside of the biotech industry. After Wednesdays stunning events, I urge you to finally see the light on this issue and send a clear message to the market that Dendreon respects shareholder interests and intends to bounce back stronger than ever. This issue has clearly taken on a new sense of urgency and I believe decisive action is necessary. I have
the
utmost
confidence
in
Dendreons
long-term
success,
but
to
get
there
the
company
first
needs
to
instill
much
more
confidence
in
the
short-term.
In
my
February
report,
and
during
our
discussions,
I
laid
out
five
key
issues
that
were
testing
investor
patience
with
the
company.
These
are
serious
and
have
painted
a
puzzling
picture
of
Dendreon
for
quite
some
time.
It
is
telling
to
review
them
again
in
the
context
of
Wednesdays
news.
They
have
clearly
become
much
worse
while
the
board
has
stood
still.
Please
recall
the
five
key
issues:
The
companys
settlement
of
shareholder
lawsuits
is
concerning.
Important
statements
and
guidance
communicated
by
management
to
the
investment
community
have
often
conflicted
with
reality
or
changed
significantly
throughout
time.
Disclosure
of
pertinent,
and
I
believe
material,
information
to
shareholders
has
been
lacking.
Many
actions
by
the
board
and
individual
company
executives
have
not
been
shareholder
friendly
and
send
the
wrong
message
to
long-term
investors.
These
include
generous
gifts
of
stock
and
options
to
executives,
dilutive
financings,
and
significant
insider
sales.
Management,
in
my
view,
seems
unprepared
to
effectively
recognize
and
answer
the
public
relations
challenges
facing
the
company
that
are
outside
of
the
scientific
realm.
While
these
things
were
obviously
apparent
in
the
past
to
some,
I
think
most
would
agree
they
are
now
indisputable.
They
cannot
be
left
to
linger
if
Dendreon
seriously
expects
to
regain
the
faith
of
its
investor
base.
Something
must
be
done.
When
we
spoke
in
June,
you
indicated
that
you
agreed
with
the
need
for
improvement
on
many
of
these
ideas.
However,
no
clear
path
forward
was
given
on
a
change
to
the
board,
which
is
by
far
the
most
important
factor
for
getting
these
things
back
on
track.
In
my
view,
Wednesdays
events
have
confirmed
the
need
for
a
new
solution
and
a
new
path
forward.
I
hope
you
agree.
In
light
of
recent
events,
I
would
be
interested
to
hear
your
updated
thoughts
on
this
issue.
I
have
the
utmost
respect
for
this
company
and
want
to
see
it
succeed.
Best
Regards,
Brad
J.
Loncar
Cc:
Esm
C.
Smith
(Assistant
Corporate
Secretary)