Melnyk wants new board for Biovail

Eugene Melnyk, the founder and former top executive of Toronto-based Biovail, said Thursday he plans to propose a new slate of directors for the pharmaceutical company.

Melnyk said he will not seek a seat personally on the company's board.

Last month, Melnyk issued a public statement in which he said he was not happy with the performance of the people now running the company. He hinted at the time he might try to launch a takeover bid for the firm he created 27 years ago.

Melnyk is Biovail's largest shareholder, with 18.8 million shares, or about 11.6 per cent of the company.

In a release issued Thursday, Melnyk said he will issue a proxy circular with his plans for the board of directors.

The announcement came the same day Toronto-based Biovail said it lost $32 million, or 20 cents a share, in its fourth quarter. In the same quarter of the previous year, the company posted a profit of $118 million, or 74 cents a share.

The company's 2007 fourth-quarter loss was due to $104 million in special charge, including:

• An $83.1-million charge to cover a Decemberproposed settlement of U.S. class-action shareholder litigation.
• A $10-million provision related to a potential settlement of a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commissioninvestigation.

Factoring out one-time gains and charges, Biovail made a profit of 45 cents a share.

Biovail's total revenues for the fourth-quarter of 2007 were $203.9 million, down from $307.6 million for the fourth quarter of 2006.

Shares of Biovail slipped 21 cents in morning trading on the TSX to hit $12.91.