A large shareholder is seeking to get at least two board seats at Ariad Pharmaceuticals Inc , the drugmaker grappling with safety concerns involving its leukemia drug Iclusig, according to people familiar with the matter. Sarissa Capital Management LP, an activist fund run by Alex Denner - investor Carl Icahn's former healthcare lieutenant - disclosed in October that it has taken a 6.2 percent stake in Ariad, becoming the company's second-largest shareholder.Sarissa has spoken to the biotechnology company about adding a few of its own directors to the board and is interested in reaching a settlement before a proxy deadline, the people said, asking not to be named because the matter is private.The deadline for nominating a slate of directors to Ariad's board is Feb. 20.Ariad, which has an eight-member board, has three seats coming up for re-election at it annual shareholder meeting, expected to occur around the third week of June. The exact date has not been set yet.
ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (ARIAD) is a global oncology company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of medicines for the cancer patients. Shares of ARIA traded higher by 0.99% or $0.07/share to $7.17. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $2.15 and as high as $23.00. On average, 28979100 shares of ARIA exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 8380736.
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