Melnyk slams Biovail board, calls for change

Biovail founder--and largest shareholder--Eugene Melnyk (photo [1]) isn't happy with the company's management, and he's going to do something about it. In a scathing letter [2] to shareholders, Melnyk lambastes the current board of directors for, as he says, not helping the company realize the full potential of its drug delivery technology.

After disappointing talks with the current board, Melnyk says he is exploring "various options available to me in connection with my interest in Biovail, including the possibility of joining with a partner or partners to acquire the remaining shares of Biovail, selling all or a portion of my current Biovail shares to a third party, continuing to hold my shares for investment, or seeking changes to the composition of the Board of Directors."

Melnyk stepped down as chairman in June of 2007 as part of a settlement with Canadian regulators who were investigating insider trading allegations linked to his sale of $1.3 billion in Biovail stock between 2002 and 2004. Melnyk currently owns 11 percent of the company's stock.

- read Melnyk's letter [2]
- see this Financial Post article [3] for more

Related Articles:
Biovail drug launch draws feds' scrutiny. Report [4]
Biovail shares sink after FDA schedules review. Report [5]
FDA hands Biovail a non-approval letter. Report [6]
Biovail's Melnyk to step down amid SEC probe. Report [7]