By ELLEN READ
Genesis Research & Development shareholders will tomorrow farewell their chairman, David Irving, who is to step down from the role and will leave the board.
In a statement notifying shareholders of the annual meeting this week, Irving - who has been a Genesis director for six years and chairman
for five - said heading the country's largest biotechnology company "demands a great deal, which a fresh appointment will find stimulating".
John Palmer, chairman of Genesis shareholder Wrightson, said he preferred to leave any discussion to the annual meeting.
He did not say if one of Wrightson's two Genesis directors would seek the chairmanship.
Last month Palmer said his company would retain its 15.4 per cent Genesis stake despite being frustrated with the business which has so far lost it $2.2 million.
"We have not been able to make the changes inside the Genesis business yet that we want," Palmer said then.
The company said in February that it had enough cash to survive for only two more years unless it could cut costs or boost revenue.
It was reporting a loss of $12.7 million for the year to December 31, the first result since its flagship product PVAC failed to get approval for sale from the United States Federal Drug Administration.
Genesis shares closed up 2c at 67c last night. They have fallen steadily from above $7 in early 2001.
