QRxPharma chair, three directors step down

QRxPharma (ASX:QRX) chairman Dr Peter Farrell and three directors resigned today ahead of a board-spill vote orchestrated by disgruntled shareholders.

Shareholders in the company had been scheduled to meet today to vote for the removal of Farrell as well as founder and director Dr Gary Pace.

The vote was arranged by a group of shareholders spearheaded by property developer Langley Walker, as a reaction to the April decision by the US FDA to knock back QRxPharma’s third new drug application for dual-opioid pain drug Moxduo.

But Farrell and Pace announced their resignation prior to the commencement of the meeting. Directors Peter Campbell and Michael Quinn also intend to step down this week, even though they had not been targeted in the board-spill vote.

“It has been an honour serving as QRxPharma chairman and I certainly share the frustration of shareholders with respect to the development of Moxduo and interactions with the FDA,” Farrell commented in a statement.

“Speaking for the entire outgoing board, I am satisfied we are leaving the company in a strong position to continue under the direction of the new board.”

Shareholders used the meeting to elect two new directors, Bruce Hancox and Dr Richard Treagus.

In a letter to shareholders written weeks before the meeting, Campbell had urged shareholders not to support a spill, implying that the intention behind the motion is a stealth takeover aimed at a quick sale of the company.

He added that Walker’s team lacks the experience in dealing with the FDA that the then-current board had, and that a board spill could prove to be very costly, “with shareholders paying the ultimate price”.

QRxPharma (ASX:QRX) shares were trading 1.14% higher at $0.089 as of around 1.30 pm on Wednesday.