Second Leading Proxy Advisor Rejects Meir Jakobsohn’s Attempt to Take Control of Knight Therapeutics’ Board

• Glass Lewis becomes second leading proxy advisory firm to recommend that Knight shareholders reject Meir Jakobsohn’s scheme to take control of Knight; notes “lingering concerns” with respect to Mr. Jakobsohn’s “motivations and behavior”
• Glass Lewis joins ISS in recommending that “shareholders withhold votes from Mr. Jakobsohn”
• Shareholders are reminded to vote the BLUE Proxy in advance of the voting deadline of Friday, May 3, 2019 at 5:00 p.m. (EST)
• Questions? Need help? Contact Kingsdale Advisors at 1-888-518-1552 or at [email protected]

MONTREAL, April 26, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Knight Therapeutics Inc. (TSX: GUD) ("Knight"), a Canadian specialty pharmaceutical company, today announced that leading independent proxy advisory firm Glass, Lewis & Co., LLC (“Glass Lewis”) has recommended that shareholders reject Meir Jakobsohn’s attempt to take control of Knight and remove him from Knight’s board of directors at the upcoming 2019 Annual Meeting of Shareholders on May 7, 2019 by withholding their vote from Meir Jakobsohn.

The Glass Lewis report comes on the heels of a report issued by Institutional Shareholders Services Inc., on Thursday, which also stated that Mr. Jakobsohn failed to make a case for change at Knight.

In making its recommendation, Glass Lewis noted the following:

“…given Mr. Jakobsohn's poor attendance record, affiliated status and lingering concerns with respect to his motivations and behavior during this campaign, we recommend that shareholders withhold votes from Mr. Jakobsohn.”

Knight is pleased that Glass Lewis correctly questions Mr. Jakobsohn’s motivations.

However, in their analysis, Glass Lewis fails to consider the valuable and irreplaceable roles that Ms. Sakhia and Mr. Gale provide with regard to their experience in building pharma companies, particularly at this early stage in Knight’s history.   

Our directors have proven track records of success and collectively have the right mix of experience and skill-sets necessary to continue Knight’s growth.  Both Ms. Sakhia and Mr. Gale have extensive operational experience in the biotechnology sector and both were part of the team that built Paladin into an international specialty pharmaceutical company with over $300 million in revenues. Their success in building Paladin with Jonathan Goodman shouldn’t be viewed as conflicts: they are a reflection of successful, rich careers that facilitate new and growing opportunities for Knight.  

Knight is also troubled by Glass Lewis’ commentary about Mr. Jakobsohn’s shareholder proposal. Shareholders are reminded that a vote for the proposal is tantamount to a vote against Jonathan.

In responding to the Glass Lewis report, CEO Jonathan Goodman said the following: “We’d like to thank all shareholders for their overwhelming support to date. This support coupled with Glass Lewis, ISS and seven equity analysts who cover Knight—including Raymond James, GMP Securities, Cormark Securities, Paradigm Capital, National Bank, Bloom Burton Securities, and Mackie Research— is a clear validation of the experience, qualifications, and track record of management’s director nominees and a reinforcement of our strategy to build the leading Canadian and rest-of-the-world speciality pharmaceutical company. We remind all shareholders to vote their BLUE Proxy for all of management’s director nominees.”

Public Statements of Support Continue to Accumulate

Every major analyst that covers Knight has indicated their support for Jonathan and his director nominees and warned against a Knight controlled by Mr. Jakobsohn. 

On Friday, Cormark Securities released another supportive statement for management’s nominees.

“In our opinion, a vote for the BLUE proxy is a vote for Jonathan Goodman, a now multi-trick pony whose track record of success, not luck, has earned him the devout shareholder base he has today.”

PROTECT YOUR INVESTMENT - VOTE YOUR BLUE PROXY TODAY

Don’t risk your Knight investment to Meir Jakobsohn, his risky scheme and inexperienced director nominees.

We encourage shareholders vote the BLUE Proxy or Voting Instruction Form (VIF) FOR the Knight board nominees who are aligned with their interests and the original vision of Knight.

The deadline to vote is Friday, May 3, 2019 at 5:00 p.m. (EST). Shareholders with questions regarding voting the BLUE Proxy or VIF should visit Knight’s website or contact Knight's strategic shareholder advisor and proxy solicitation agent, Kingsdale Advisors, who can be reached by toll-free telephone in North America at 1-888-518-1552, by collect call outside North America at 416-867-2272, or by email at [email protected].

Advisors

Knight has retained Kingsdale Advisors as its strategic shareholder and communications advisor, Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP as its legal advisor, and RBC Capital Markets as its financial advisor.

About Knight Therapeutics Inc. 

Knight Therapeutics Inc., headquartered in Montreal, Canada, is a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on acquiring or in-licensing and commercializing innovative pharmaceutical products for the Canadian and select international markets. Knight Therapeutics Inc.’s shares trade on TSX under the symbol GUD. For more information about Knight Therapeutics Inc., please visit the company’s web site at www.gud-knight.com or www.sedar.com.

Forward-Looking Statement

This document contains forward-looking statements for Knight Therapeutics Inc. and its subsidiaries. These forward-looking statements, by their nature, necessarily involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements. Knight Therapeutics Inc. considers the assumptions on which these forward-looking statements are based to be reasonable at the time they were prepared, but cautions the reader that these assumptions regarding future events, many of which are beyond the control of Knight Therapeutics Inc. and its subsidiaries, may ultimately prove to be incorrect. Factors and risks, which could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations are discussed in Knight Therapeutics Inc.'s Annual Report and in Knight Therapeutics Inc.'s Annual Information Form for the year ended December 31, 2018. Knight Therapeutics Inc. disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information or future events, except as required by law.

CONTACT INFORMATION:

Investor Contact:
Knight Therapeutics Inc.
Samira Sakhia
President & Chief Financial Officer
T: 514-678-8930
F: 514-481-4116
[email protected]
www.gud-knight.com

Media Contact:
Kingsdale Advisors
Ian Robertson
Executive Vice President, Communication Strategy
Direct: 416-867-2333
Cell: 647-621-2646
[email protected]