Strongly Disagrees with Recommendation and Believes ISS Ignored Key Issues in Its Incomplete Analysis
ISS Has Chosen Not to Hold the Board Accountable for Its Underperformance in Recent Years, Heplisavโs Waning Market Share Growth and Poor Corporate Governance
Urges Shareholders to Vote FOR Deep Trackโs Four Highly Qualified Director Nominees
GREENWICH, Conn.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Deep Track Capital, LP, (together with its affiliates, โDeep Trackโ or โweโ), one of the largest shareholders of Dynavax Technologies Corporation (NASDAQ: DVAX) (โDynavaxโ, โDVAXโ or the โCompanyโ), with ownership of approximately 14.82% of the Companyโs outstanding shares, today issued the following statement in response to a report issued by Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (โISSโ) regarding the election of directors to the Companyโs Board of Directors (the โBoardโ) at the 2025 Annual Meeting of Stockholders (the โAnnual Meetingโ).
โWe firmly believe ISS reached the wrong conclusion by failing to recommend any amount of change in the Dynavax boardroom. The report reads as a rushed and incomplete assessment: not only does it mistakenly use the name of a completely different company at one point, but it also contains numerous factual errors and does not accurately capture key events. Critical issues are completely ignored, including Heplisavโs flattening market share growth, management missing performance targets set by the Board, and a shareholder-unfriendly approach to capital allocation. ISS fails to hold the Board to account even for issues it acknowledges in its report, such as the need for improved corporate governance. Above all else, we are disappointed that ISS readily adopted the Companyโs view that a significant long-term shareholder would add no value to the Board.
We call shareholdersโ attention to the following points:
- Recent failures demand a strategic pivot. Heplisavโs market share of 44% exiting 2024 failed to achieve the target of 47% set by the Board; similarly, annual sales also failed to achieve the $275 million goal.1 This year is hardly off to a better start, with market share of only 43% for the first quarter of 2025. Yet Dynavax refuses to acknowledge this is a problem, with management stating just earlier this month that they were โvery comfortableโ with and โvery proudโ of this result and noted the strategy is going โexactly how we had planned.โ2 It is entirely unclear why ISS would completely ignore key performance metrics set by the Board as part of their evaluation, choosing instead to simply rubber stamp the Companyโs arguments.
- ISS acknowledges that the Company has โa number of suboptimal corporate governance provisionsโ3 yet fails to take Dynavax to task for its half-hearted attempts to address these issues. ISS ignores the most glaring governance defect, which is the imbalanced classes of directors (with the classes split three, two and four) and with the classified Board structure not ending until 2028. Further, the addition of two new directors with no vaccine commercialization expertise while Heplisavโs market share has been stuck in the low 40 percent range for now seven consecutive quarters is, in our view, inexplicable. We proposed a candidate with over two decades of vaccine commercialization experience (who, contrary to what ISS wrote, was never offered a seat by the Board). Instead, ISS applied their rubber stamp to the director handpicked by the Chairman from his previous board role, who has served for all of three months and brings zero prior vaccine expertise to the table.
- Market reaction to first quarter 2025 results indicates widespread concerns, in our view. The Companyโs share price fell 11% in reaction to the first quarter earnings report. In terms of broader strategy, ISS states that โthe company has been sitting on a cash pile for several years, and shareholder patience may be waningโ but then fails to consider our argument that excess cash could be best deployed by returning capital to shareholders. ISS appears to assert that the Board is unlikely to pursue a potentially destructive acquisition because it has not done so yet; while they may find comfort in this logic, we donโt think shareholders will take the same generous view.
- The Companyโs total shareholder return (โTSRโ) demonstrates clear underperformance. We question the relevance of DVAX performance dating back to 2019, given how few of the current Board members had anything to do with the Company at that time (and in fact, none of the nominees up for election this year). The Company extracted significant value from the pandemic, but as the CEO himself describes, that was a โonce in a lifetimeโ4 experience, and attention should now shift to the present. Dynavax shares are down 23% year-to-date. The Companyโs TSR declined by 43% between two milestone events: from the appointment of Scott Myers as Board Chair to our amended Schedule 13D filing that led the Board to adopt a poison pill.5 With respect to the benchmark that the Board uses to assess relative TSR for determining managementโs compensation, the Nasdaq Biotech Index, DVAX shares underperformed by 40 percentage points.
- ISSโs report paints an inaccurate and incomplete picture of settlement discussions. Contrary to what ISS wrote, the Company never made an offer that included re-balancing its classes. Also, our final proposal included a two-year standstill, another item that ISS omits. Specifically, our final proposal was that Dynavax appoint Mr. Erkman and Mr. Santel to the Board, two incumbent directors step down, the share repurchase program be increased, and Deep Track would agree to a standstill until the nomination period for the 2027 annual meeting.
Shareholders should see through ISSโs surface-level analysis and consider the substantive issues at stake. Dynavax continues to underperform while the Board ignores its failed strategy. Our nominees possess exceptional relevant experience that could immediately improve the Boardโs ability to assess the best path forward to maximize value. We urge shareholders to vote FOR our four highly qualified nominees.โ
EVERY VOTE MATTERS
Your vote is important, no matter how many shares of Common Stock you own.
If you have any questions, require assistance in voting your WHITE proxy card, or need additional copies of Deep Trackโs proxy materials, please visit www.RefocusDVAX.com or contact our proxy solicitor, Innisfree M&A Incorporated (โInnisfreeโ), using the contact information provided here:
Innisfree M&A Incorporated
501 Madison Avenue, 20th Floor
New York, New York 10022
Stockholders call toll-free (877) 687-1865
About Deep Track Capital
Deep Track Capital is a Greenwich, Connecticut-based investment firm focused exclusively on the life sciences industry. We develop long term partnerships with management teams of leading innovative public and pre-IPO biotechnology companies. In addition to capital, we seek to invest our time and expertise, while leveraging our network for the benefit of our partners. We aim to lead transactions while building large syndicates, and also to invest in rounds led by other qualified investors.
CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
The information herein contains โforward-looking statements.โ Specific forward-looking statements can be identified by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts and include, without limitation, words such as โmay,โ โwill,โ โexpects,โ โbelieves,โ โanticipates,โ โplans,โ โestimates,โ โprojects,โ โpotential,โ โtargets,โ โforecasts,โ โseeks,โ โcould,โ โshouldโ or the negative of such terms or other variations on such terms or comparable terminology. Similarly, statements that describe our objectives, plans or goals are forward-looking. Forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties and assumptions. There can be no assurance that any idea or assumption herein is, or will be proven, correct. If one or more of the risks or uncertainties materialize, or if any of the underlying assumptions of Deep Track Capital, LP (โDeep Trackโ) or any of the other participants in the proxy solicitation described herein prove to be incorrect, the actual results may vary materially from outcomes indicated by these statements. Accordingly, forward looking statements should not be regarded as a representation by Deep Track that the future plans, estimates or expectations contemplated will ever be achieved.
Certain statements and information included herein may have been sourced from third parties. Deep Track does not make any representations regarding the accuracy, completeness or timeliness of such third party statements or information. Except as may be expressly set forth herein, permission to cite such statements or information has neither been sought nor obtained from such third parties. Any such statements or information should not be viewed as an indication of support from such third parties for the views expressed herein.
Deep Track disclaims any obligation to update the information herein or to disclose the results of any revisions that may be made to any projected results or forward-looking statements herein to reflect events or circumstances after the date of such information, projected results or statements or to reflect the occurrence of anticipated or unanticipated events.
CERTAIN INFORMATION CONCERNING THE PARTICIPANTS
Deep Track and the other Participants (as defined below) have filed a definitive proxy statement and accompanying WHITE universal proxy card with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the โSECโ) to be used to solicit proxies for, among other matters, the election of its slate of director nominees at the 2025 annual stockholders meeting (the โ2025 Annual Meetingโ) of Dynavax Technologies Corporation, a Delaware corporation (โDVAXโ). Shortly after filing its definitive proxy statement with the SEC, Deep Track furnished the definitive proxy statement and accompanying WHITE universal proxy card to some or all of the stockholders entitled to vote at the 2025 Annual Meeting.
The participants in the proxy solicitation are Deep Track, Deep Track Biotechnology Master Fund, Ltd. (the โRecord Stockholderโ), David Kroin (all of the foregoing persons, collectively, the โDeep Track Partiesโ), Brett A. Erkman, Jeffrey S. Farrow, Michael Mullette and Donald J. Santel (such individuals, collectively with the Deep Track Parties, the โParticipantsโ). As of the date hereof, the Deep Track Parties beneficially own an aggregate of 17,791,486 shares (the โDeep Track Sharesโ) of the common stock, par value $0.001 per share, of DVAX (the โCommon Stockโ). The Deep Track Shares collectively represent approximately 14.53% of the outstanding shares of Common Stock based on 122,411,685 shares of Common Stock outstanding as of the record date for the 2025 Annual Meeting as reported in DVAXโs Definitive Proxy Statement filed with the SEC on April 17, 2025. Each of the Deep Track Parties may be deemed to have the shared power to vote or direct the vote of (and the shared power to dispose or direct the disposition of) all of the Deep Track Shares. As of the date hereof, none of the other Participants beneficially own any shares of Common Stock.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION AND WHERE TO FIND IT
DEEP TRACK STRONGLY ADVISES ALL STOCKHOLDERS OF DVAX TO READ THE DEFINITIVE PROXY STATEMENT, ANY AMENDMENTS OR SUPPLEMENTS TO SUCH PROXY STATEMENT, AND OTHER PROXY MATERIALS FILED BY DEEP TRACK WITH THE SEC BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION. SUCH PROXY MATERIALS WILL BE AVAILABLE AT NO CHARGE ON THE SECโS WEBSITE AT WWW.SEC.GOV. THE DEFINITIVE PROXY STATEMENT, WHEN FILED, AND OTHER RELEVANT DOCUMENTS, WILL ALSO BE AVAILABLE BY DIRECTING A REQUEST TO THE PARTICIPANTSโ PROXY SOLICITOR, INNISFREE M&A INCORPORATED, 501 MADISON AVENUE, 20th FLOOR, NEW YORK, NY 10022 (STOCKHOLDERS CAN CALL TOLL-FREE: (877)-687-1865).
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____________________ 1 Dynavax 2025 definitive proxy statement, page 53. 2 Dynavax 1Q25 earnings call recorded May 6, 2025. 3 Permission to quote ISS was neither sought nor obtained. 4 CEO Ryan Spencer, Cowen Conference, March 4, 2024. 5 TSR measured from Oct. 21, 2021 to Oct. 24, 2024 |
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