Shareholders OK change of terms for Amgen Board.Amgen Inc. shareholders overwhelmingly approved corporate governance Corporate Governance The relationship between all the stakeholders in a company. This includes the shareholders, directors, and management of a company, as defined by the corporate charter, bylaws, formal policy, and rule of law. reforms at the company's annual meeting last week that should give shareholders more power to approve or reject board members. The change to the Thousand Oaks-based biotech's certificate of incorporation certificate of incorporation n. some states issue a certificate to prove a corporation's existence upon the filing of Articles of Incorporation. In most states the Articles are sufficient proof. , which was supported by the current board, shifts the selection of directors from staggered elections of three-year terms to annual elections of a one-year term, starting in 2008. The board earlier this year also changed its bylaws The rules and regulations enacted by an association or a corporation to provide a framework for its operation and management. Bylaws may specify the qualifications, rights, and liabilities of membership, and the powers, duties, and grounds for the dissolution of an to require directors to receive a majority vote in uncontested elections. If a board member does not receive the necessary votes, that director must resign. The board can decide whether to accept the resignation. Annual elections are widely supported in the activist shareholder An activist shareholder uses an equity stake in a corporation to put public pressure on its management. The goals of activist shareholders range from financial (increase of shareholder value through changes in corporate policy, financing structure, cost cutting, etc. movement, and in Amgen's case appeared to have gained support as the company's share price has faltered amid rising health concerns over its best-selling best·sell·er also best seller n. A product, such as a book, that is among those sold in the largest numbers. best anemia drugs. One day after the May 9 shareholders meeting, a U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisory panel recommended that Amgen and Johnson & Johnson be required to place new restrictions in the prescribing information for their top-selling anemia drugs. The FDA FDA abbr. Food and Drug Administration FDA, n.pr See Food and Drug Administration. FDA, n.pr the abbreviation for the Food and Drug Administration. is not required to follow the panel's recommendations but usually does. The outside advisory panel looked at studies indicating that both Amgen drugs and Procrit (an Epogen equivalent that Amgen provides to J&J) raised the risk of heart attacks, strokes and death when used at high doses. The drugs are approved for anemia related to chemotherapy and kidney failure kidney failure or renal failure Partial or complete loss of kidney function. Acute failure causes reduced urine output and blood chemical imbalance, including uremia. Most patients recover within six weeks. , but recently Amgen studies have attempted to justify broader uses. Aranesp and Epogen accounted for 47 percent, or $6.6 billion, of the company's revenue last year. New restrictions could reduce the company's sales by as much as 17 percent, analysts have speculated. Following the panel's decision, Amgen shares plunged 9 percent--the biggest drop in more than five years--to close at $57.33 on May 10. |
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