Actelion's Rob Cawthorn Fends Off Criticism Ahead Of Annual Meeting

Swiss biotech group Actelion published a white paper defending its corporate governance as it aims to counter criticism from its largest shareholder Elliott Advisers ahead of a shareholder meeting.

"We see corporate governance as the underpinning foundation for maximizing value creation for our shareholders," Rob Cawthorn, chairman of the board, said in statement on Tuesday.

Actelion management has come under fire from activist fund Elliott Advisers which urged the company to put itself up for sale and called for founder and Chief Executive Jean-Paul Clozel as well as Chairman Cawthorn to resign from the board.

Pressure from Elliott, which owns nearly 6% of the $7 billion company, is mounting ahead of Actelion's annual shareholders' meeting on May 5 but the company recently won support from another significant shareholder.

Actelion said it had delivered sustained value creation since its foundation in 1997.

"We believe that the company's corporate governance has been an important component of enabling this outstanding performance," Cawthorn said in the statement.