Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: AUPH) shares yesterday demonstrated remarkable tenacity on the US stock charts. Following a little 0.77% increase to $6.58 during the regular session, AUPH shares rose 2.69% to $6.76 in after-hours trading. The primary cause of the increase was the news that the company was reorganizing its board of directors.
Aurinia Reorganizing Its Board
In an effort to better align the company’s governance with shareholder interests, Aurinia Pharmaceuticals’ Board of Directors underwent a strategic restructure. With less than majority support at the Annual General Meeting, CEO and President Peter Greenleaf resigned provisionally from the Board in 2024. Nevertheless, he is still on the Board.
The Board, after thorough deliberation, concluded that Mr. Greenleaf’s continued presence as a Director is essential for the company’s ongoing focus on commercial execution, free cash flow generation, and pipeline advancement. In a notable appointment, Kevin Tang, President of Tang Capital Management, LLC, joined the Board.
Mr. Tang has over twenty years of expertise in the biopharmaceutical industry as an investor, leader, and regulator. In the meanwhile, the resignations of Brinda Balakrishnan, M.D., Ph.D., R. Hector MacKay-Dunn, J.D., K.C., and Daniel G. Billen, Ph.D., were accepted by the Board despite their lack of majority support.
Board Composition and Future Focus
The restructured AUPH Board now comprises seven members, including:
- Jeffrey A. Bailey;
- Robert T. Foster, Pharm.D., Ph.D., DSc;
- Peter Greenleaf;
- David R.W. Jayne, M.D., FRCP, FRCPE, FMedSci;
- Jill Leversage;
- Karen Smith, M.D., Ph.D., MBA, LLM;
- Kevin Tang
This refreshed leadership team is expected to steer Aurinia toward future success.
Advancing the Pipeline: AUR200 Study Initiation
In parallel to the Board restructuring, Aurinia marked a critical milestone in its drug development efforts. AUPH has started a Phase 1a single ascending dose (SAD) research for AUR200, an autoimmune disease treatment that has the potential to be the best in its class.
Preliminary findings are expected in the first half of 2025, and the trial will assess the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, and biomarker alterations in healthy volunteers. The results of this trial will play a major role in determining how AUR200 is developed clinically in the future. AUR200 is well-positioned to fill important gaps in the treatment of autoimmune illnesses, especially in markets with little competition.
