Scilex Holding Company Announces Postponement of Annual Meeting of Stockholders
Scilex Holding Company (SCLX) has postponed its 2023 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, originally scheduled for April 6, 2023, to April 17, 2023, due to significant underreporting of over 44 million shares of common stock by brokerage firms. This decision follows a court order from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court compelling these firms to provide information regarding stock ownership related to a recent dividend of 76 million shares of Scilex stock held by its parent company, Sorrento Therapeutics. Compliance with the court's order is expected to allow the underreported shares to participate in the Annual Meeting, potentially impacting shareholder votes and corporate governance.
- Court order may lead to accurate reporting of underreported shares, allowing for more inclusive voting at the Annual Meeting.
- Postponement of the Annual Meeting may create uncertainty among investors regarding governance decisions.
- Significant underreporting of shares (over 44 million) raises concerns about the accuracy of stockholder records.
PALO ALTO, Calif., April 05, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Scilex Holding Company (Nasdaq: SCLX, “Scilex”), a subsidiary of Sorrento Therapeutics, Inc. (OTC Market: SRNEQ) (“Sorrento”), announced today that the Company’s 2023 Annual Meeting of Stockholders (the “Annual Meeting”) that was scheduled to be held at 9:00 a.m. (Pacific Time) on Thursday, April 6, 2023, has been postponed to April 17, 2023 at 9:00 a.m. (Pacific Time). Scilex is postponing the Annual Meeting due to the previously announced substantial underreporting of more than 44 million shares of its common stock by brokers, banks and other nominees (collectively, “brokerage firms”) to Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc., an independent third party that collects and tabulates stockholder votes for the upcoming Annual Meeting, and in response to multiple brokerage firms requesting more time to complete the reporting per court order described below.
On April 4, 2023, Sorrento announced that the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas entered an order compelling specified brokerage firms to produce non-privileged written responses to Sorrento providing certain information related to the record and beneficial ownership of Scilex common stock received by Sorrento’s stockholders in connection with Sorrento’s previously announced dividend of 76,000,000 shares of Scilex common stock held by Sorrento. The order was executed in connection with Sorrento’s chapter 11 case, which was filed on February 13, 2023. Scilex anticipates that if the brokerage firms comply with the court’s order, a substantial number of the underreported shares will be able to participate in the Annual Meeting.
For information relating to Sorrento’s press release, please click here.
For information relating to the court order, please click here.
About Scilex Holding Company
Scilex Holding Company is an innovative revenue-generating company focused on acquiring, developing and commercializing non-opioid pain management products for the treatment of acute and chronic pain. Scilex is uncompromising in its focus to become the global pain management leader committed to social, environmental, economic, and ethical principles to responsibly develop pharmaceutical products to maximize quality of life. Results from the Phase III Pivotal Trial C.L.E.A.R. Program for SEMDEXA™, its novel, non-opioid product for the treatment of lumbosacral radicular pain (sciatica), were announced in March 2022. Scilex intends to submit a request to the FDA for a type D meeting for purposes of pre-NDA discussion with the FDA. Scilex targets indications with high unmet needs and large market opportunities with non-opioid therapies for the treatment of patients with moderate to severe pain. Scilex launched its first commercial product ZTlido® in October 2018, in-licensed a commercial product Gloperba® in June 2022, and its third FDA-approved product Elyxyb™ in February 2023. It is also developing its late-stage pipeline, which includes a pivotal Phase 3 candidate, and one Phase 2 and one Phase 1 candidate. Its commercial product, ZTlido® (lidocaine topical system)
Scilex Holding Company is headquartered in Palo Alto, California.
About Sorrento Therapeutics, Inc.
Sorrento is a clinical and commercial stage biopharmaceutical company developing new therapies to treat cancer, pain (non-opioid treatments), autoimmune disease and COVID-19. Sorrento’s multimodal, multipronged approach to fighting cancer is made possible by its extensive immuno-oncology platforms, including key assets such as Abivertinib, next generation tyrosine kinase inhibitors (“TKIs”), fully human antibodies (“G-MAB™ library”), immuno-cellular therapies (“DAR-T™”), antibody-drug conjugates (“ADCs”), and oncolytic virus (“Seprehvec™”). Sorrento is also developing potential antiviral therapies and vaccines against coronaviruses, including Ovydso™ (STI-1558), COVI-MSC™; and diagnostic test solutions, including COVIMARK™.
Sorrento’s commitment to life-enhancing therapies for patients is also demonstrated by our effort to advance a TRPV1 agonist, non-opioid pain management small molecule, resiniferatoxin (“RTX”), and SP-102 (10 mg, dexamethasone sodium phosphate viscous gel) (SEMDEXA™), a novel, viscous gel formulation of a widely used corticosteroid for epidural injections to treat lumbosacral radicular pain, or sciatica, and to commercialize ZTlido® (lidocaine topical system)
For more information visit www.sorrentotherapeutics.com
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release and any statements made for and during any presentation or meeting concerning the matters discussed in this press release contain forward-looking statements related to Scilex and its subsidiaries under the safe harbor provisions of Section 21E of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. Forward-looking statements include statements regarding the anticipated date and timing of the postponed Annual Meeting, the potential reporting of currently underreported shares at the Annual Meeting, Scilex’s long-term objectives and commercialization plans, future opportunities for Scilex, Scilex’s future business strategies, Scilex’s current and prospective product candidates, planned clinical trials and preclinical activities and potential product approvals, as well as the potential for market acceptance of any approved products and the related market opportunity; statements regarding ZTlido®, Gloperba®, ELYXYB™, SP-102 (SEMDEXA™), SP-103 or SP-104, if approved by the FDA; Scilex’s development and commercialization plans; and Scilex’s products, technologies and prospects.
Risks and uncertainties that could cause Scilex’s actual results to differ materially and adversely from those expressed in our forward-looking statements, include, but are not limited to: risks regarding the compliance by brokerage firms with the order of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas regarding record and beneficial ownership of Scilex common stock received by Sorrento’s stockholders in connection with Sorrento’s previously announced dividend; risks regarding any legal or other action actually taken against brokerage firms for the violations described in this press release; general economic, political and business conditions; risks related to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic; the risk that the potential product candidates that Scilex develops may not progress through clinical development or receive required regulatory approvals within expected timelines or at all; risks relating to uncertainty regarding the regulatory pathway for Scilex’s product candidates; the risk that Scilex will be unable to successfully market or gain market acceptance of its product candidates; the risk that Scilex’s product candidates may not be beneficial to patients or successfully commercialized; the risk that Scilex has overestimated the size of the target patient population, their willingness to try new therapies and the willingness of physicians to prescribe these therapies; risks that the results of the Phase 2 trial for SP-103 or Phase 1 trials for SP-104 may not be successful; risks that the prior results of the clinical trials of SP-102 (SEMDEXA™), SP-103 or SP-104 may not be replicated; regulatory and intellectual property risks; and other risks and uncertainties indicated from time to time and other risks set forth in Scilex’s filings with the SEC. Investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this release, and we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statement in this press release except as may be required by law.
Contacts:
Investors and Media
Scilex Holding Company
960 San Antonio Road
Palo Alto, CA 94303
Office: (650) 516-4310
Email: investorrelations@scilexholding.com
Website: www.scilexholding.com
SEMDEXA™ (SP-102) is a trademark owned by Semnur Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Scilex Holding Company. A proprietary name review by the FDA is planned.
ZTlido® is a registered trademark owned by Scilex Pharmaceuticals Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Scilex Holding Company.
Gloperba® is the subject of an exclusive, transferable license to use the registered trademark by Scilex Holding Company.
ELYXYB™ is the subject of an exclusive, transferable license to use the trademark by Scilex Holding Company.
All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
© 2023 Scilex Holding Company All Rights Reserved.
FAQ
Why was Scilex's Annual Meeting postponed to April 17, 2023?
What is the significance of the court order related to Scilex?
What impact does the postponement of the Annual Meeting have on Scilex shareholders?
