ASL Strategic Value Fund targets Avadel board over Lumryz drug mismanagement, WSJ reports

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(Reuters) -ASL Strategic Value Fund plans to push shareholders of drugmaker Avadel Pharmaceuticals to vote to remove the company’s board, citing mismanagement in the launch of its flagship sleep disorder drug, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday.

The fund, which holds shares worth about $15 million in Avadel, plans to publish an open letter arguing that the mismanagement in the launch of the drug called Lumryz resulted in the company missing out on hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue, the report said, citing a copy of the letter.

The investment firm also reiterated a call to the Ireland-based drugmaker to hire an investment bank and explore alternatives including a sale, the report added.

Reuters could not independently establish the veracity of the report. Avadel and ASL did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.

Last year, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Lumryz for children aged 7 years and older who presented with sudden muscle weakness, called cataplexy, or excessive daytime sleepiness, both symptoms of the sleep disorder called narcolepsy.

Narcolepsy is a chronic neurological disorder that impacts the brain’s ability to regulate sleep and wake cycles, with 70% of patients also experiencing cataplexy.

(Reporting by Devika Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Harikrishnan Nair)