Three members of Biogen’s board of directors will step down, changes that, to some who closely follow the company, indicate its historically at-odds boardroom may be becoming more harmonious.

Biogen announced late Monday that Alexander Denner, William Jones and Richard Mulligan will no longer stand for re-election. Meanwhile, Susan Langer, who previously held various positions at the company including head of corporate strategy, has been nominated to fill one of the vacant seats.

Biogen said that to allow investors enough time to review these proposed changes, it’s adjourning its annual meeting of stockholders, which was originally scheduled for June 14, until June 26.

To some shareholders, Langer may be a controversial pick. At 32, she would be more than 20 years younger than any other Biogen board member. STAT News also reported that Denner, an activist investor and longtime member of Biogen’s board, nominated Langer, with whom he has had an ongoing romantic relationship and a child.

Denner is divorcing his wife, and his relationship with Langer is a “contentious issue,” according to STAT, which said it obtained court records.

Biogen did not mention the relationship between Denner and Langer in documents detailing the proposed board changes that were filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Reached for comment, a company spokesperson said Biogen believes Langer to be a “highly qualified candidate” who will “add meaningful value” to the board. The spokesperson did not answer BioPharma Dive’s questions on why Langer and Denner’s relationship was not formally disclosed in filings.

Langer is president of startup Souffle Therapeutics, which is currently operating in stealth mode, according to financial data firm Pitchbook. She has also held leadership positions at two other biotechnology companies, Kojin Therapeutics and Paratus Sciences; a board seat at NextRNA Therapeutics; and was a venture partner at Old Silver VC and a managing partner at Guava Partners.

She is the daughter of billionaire Bob Langer, a well-known Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor who co-founded Moderna along with dozens of other companies.

The newly disclosed departures add to a yearslong shake-up in Biogen’s upper ranks. The company previously disclosed that its board chairman, Stelios Papadopoulos, will step down from his position at the upcoming stockholder meeting. He will be replaced by fellow board member Caroline Dorsa.

And on the leadership side, Biogen has, since 2019, appointed a new chief financial officer, a head of drug development, a head of corporate development, and a new chief executive in Christopher Viehbacher, the former Sanofi CEO.

To Brian Abrahams, an analyst at RBC Capital Markets, the recent and planned changes to Biogen’s board represent a “significant strategic shift” at the company.

In particular, reported disagreement among Biogen’s board is viewed as one reason for the company’s past aversion to larger deals. In the last two decades, the company’s biggest acquisition was that of Nightstar Therapeutics, a gene therapy developer Biogen bought for $800 million in 2019.

“Recall that the [Biogen] board has often been seen by investors as an impediment to larger transformative deals given a split between a more risk-averse, expense-containment focused group and other directors who were more growth-oriented,” Abrahams wrote in a note to clients.

“While it is difficult to know whether the directors retiring today were more conservative, we believe Alex Denner has historically been a key proponent of a [profit and loss] focus,” Abrahams added, “and we would not be surprised if his departure, and the larger shakeup at the board and organization, were to potentially clear the way for larger and more transformative deals.”

Viehbacher, notably, has signaled he’s open to mergers and acquisitions.

“I tell people, ‘Well, there wasn’t a lot of point hiring me if you don’t want to go do deals,’” he told investors earlier this year.

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• Source: https://www.biopharmadive.com/news/biogen-board-denner-langer-directors/652838/