Abcam Plc founder Jonathan Milner is pushing for better performance at the biotechnology supplier he started 25 years ago.
The British scientist and entrepreneur aims to take a more active role in influencing Abcam’s governance, performance and direction, according to a filing Monday, which confirmed an earlier Bloomberg News report.
He’s already held several discussions with the company and has been seeking a board seat, according to a person familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified because the information is private.
Milner is one of Cambridge, England-based Abcam’s largest investors with a stake of about 6.4%, the filing showed. This would make him the company’s third-largest stockholder, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Shares of Abcam jumped 6.1% in New York trading Monday for the biggest daily gain in about two weeks, giving the company a market value of $4 billion. It has advanced 11% this year, while the benchmark Nasdaq Composite Index rose 17% during the period. Abcam was valued at around $5.5 billion at its peak in February 2021.
Abcam is sometimes referred to as the “Amazon of antibodies.” It runs an online store selling a variety of protein research tools to life scientists, ranging from reagents and cellular assays to enzymes and imaging products.
Abcam’s annual general meeting is coming up on May 17. The company said in a statement Monday it speaks with Milner regularly and most recently met with him on April 28.
“The company appreciates Dr. Milner’s contributions and input and looks forward to continuing to engage actively with him, and all our shareholders,” it said in the statement. “The board of directors and management team remain committed to creating value for all shareholders and will continue to take actions to achieve that objective.”
Milner founded Abcam in 1998, helped grow the company through its 2005 initial public offering and served as chief executive officer until 2014. He then became deputy chairman, before eventually stepping down from the board in October 2020. He has since focused on investing in early-stage life sciences companies and other high-tech startups in the UK.
Abcam, which first listed on London’s AIM market, has been trading on the Nasdaq since 2020 and dropped its UK listing last year.
(Corrects AGM date in seventh paragraph of story originally published May 2.)
