These are delicate times for Athira Pharma, a Bothell, Washington-based biotech firm in clinical trials for treatment for Alzheimer's and Parkinson's dementia.
Last week, the firm was sued by an investor claiming Athira didn't disclose allegations of "research misconduct" by a co-founder when it raised $204 million in a 2020 initial public offering. It's the latest suit by unhappy investors whose shares tanked nearly 40% last June after news that co-founder and CEO Leen Kawas was put on leave.
It also comes barely a week before Athira's annual meeting, when shareholders must choose sides in a fight between management and an activist investor who thinks the firm bungled Kawas' departure and that its "unqualified" executives put at risk "the most important clinical trials in Athira's history."
