Vivus Inc's largest shareholder on Tuesday took the unusual step of naming the man it would install as the drugmaker's chief executive should it prevail in its battle to gain control of the board of directors this month.First Manhattan Co (FMC), which owns 9.9 percent of Vivus shares and has proposed a full slate of nine directors in a proxy fight, said former AstraZeneca Plc senior executive Anthony Zook was the right man to replace longtime Vivus CEO Leland Wilson. The move could help swing support for the activist investor ahead of Vivus's July 15 meeting of shareholders.First Manhattan, an investment advisory firm, has repeatedly criticized Vivus saying it badly mishandled the launch of its obesity drug Qsymia and for failing to land a large company partner with deep pockets and a big enough sales force to help the drug reach its blockbuster potential.Zook, who was executive vice-president for global commercial operations at AstraZeneca until February, helped launch some of the British drugmaker's biggest products, including the multibillion-dollar cholesterol medicine Crestor. He also oversaw Astra's successful sales transition when multibillion-dollar heartburn drug Prilosec lost patent protection and the company then launched Nexium, its next blockbuster for the same condition.
AstraZeneca PLC (AstraZeneca) is a global biopharmaceutical company. Shares of AZN remained unchanged at $47.91. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $44.17 and as high as $53.45. On average, 1959430 shares of AZN exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 6196.
VIVUS, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company. It commercializes and develops therapies to address unmet needs in obesity, sleep apnea, diabetes and sexual health. Shares of VVUS remained unchanged at $12.58. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $9.86 and as high as $31.21. On average, 2144660 shares of VVUS exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 0.
Source
