Insider’s out? Evotec ‘immediately’ reported ex-CEO share trading

After 15 years at the helm, contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) Evotec earlier this month announced the stepping down of Werner Lanthaler citing personal reasons.

But during a business update call this week, the firm made reference to Lanthaler’s departure in combination with “his late disclosure of transactions in company shares” made over a period of three years.

“Evotec reported these transactions to the market immediately after the company received the respective notifications from Werner Lanthaler,” chairwoman Iris Löw-Friedrich told investors. “Evotec has acted always in compliance with the statutory regulations and our own very strict compliance code. I assure you that Evotec has a clear and widely communicated insider policy, which is supplementary to Evotec's Code of Conduct.”

While she noted all details of Evotec’s Insider Policy were reviewed and refined in the run-up to the firm’s US listing in 2021, the incident has led to the firm reviewing its processes.

“I state firmly today that Evotec has fulfilled all its notification obligations as to managers' transactions at all times. We have also reaffirmed with the current members of the Management Board and the current members of the Supervisory Board the strict adherence to Evotec's very strict Insider Policies and Procedures.”

While Lanthaler had been set to continue to be available as a strategic advisor to the company’s Supervisory Board, Löw-Friedrich said this would no longer be the case.

“Except for certain outstanding internal handover activities, which may only continue for a very, very short time still, he does not hold any operational or advisory role in the company or in the Group's subsidiaries anymore.”