Company: ZVRA
Filing Date: 2025-04-29
Form Type: DEFC14A
Source: 0000897069-25-000885
Chunk: 13

Company: ZEVRA THERAPEUTICS, INC.
Filing Date: 2025-04-29
Form: DEFC14A
Chunk 13
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 believe are in the best interests of the Company and its shareholders. As should all of the other directors. Unfortunately, it is evident that several members of the current Board—both legacy holdovers and newly appointed Company nominees—have failed to uphold those duties. These directors have either directly supported or passively enabled a series of reckless decisions that have eroded value, compromised the Company’s credibility, and undermined investor trust. Chief among these failures was the grossly dilutive and strategically flawed acquisition of Acer Therapeutics, followed by the botched launch of Olpruva™. These miscalculations were exacerbated by mismanaged debt refinancing, additional dilution, and the emergence of litigation from Commave. Together, these events represent a pattern—not a coincidence—of misgovernance. The Company’s current nominees have not demonstrated the independence, foresight, or accountability necessary to justify their continued oversight of the Company. The role of the Board is not to protect past decisions or insulate underperforming directors. It is to challenge management, safeguard strategy, and take actions that are in the best interests of shareholders. Claims of Value Destruction are Inaccurate Claims that Messrs. Mickle and Regan destroy stockholder value are not accurate. At the simplest level, to say that a single individual on a board of directors, or a single officer of a company, is the one responsible for the poor performance of a company is a misstatement. If such a position is true, it means that each member of the Company’s Board of Directors is individually responsible for the Company’s stock declining 25% since the end of last year. On a more nuanced level, the Company’s assertions also do not hold up to scrutiny. For example, the Company’s assertion that Dr. Mickle “destroyed stockholder value” is a gross oversimplification of a far more complex set of circumstances—and a deeply misleading characterization of a tenure defined by resilience, execution, and transformation. Yes, the Company’s stock declined during portions of Dr. Mickle’s tenure. But that decline must be understood in context. Dr. Mickle founded KemPharm and, like shareholders, bore the full economic consequences of that downturn—arguably more so, given his personal financial exposure and unwavering commitment to the Company. The challenges were not the result of mismanagement, but of an extraordinary shift in the regulatory, public health, and commercial landscape. KemPharm went public as an abuse-deterrent opioid prodrug company, only to face a seismic