And his name is Max. Here’s the deal: Max Link (his real name) was happily existing as chairman of two biotechs simultaneously - Alexion Pharmaceuticals and PDL BioPharma - until this week. Why? He resigned from PDL to avoid an unusual conflict of interest.

On March 16, PDL filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Alexion over a drug called Soliris that treats a rare blood disorder. PDL is seeking monetary damages but not an injunction, since PDL officials said they don’t want to hamper development of the drug. “We have contacted Alexion to discuss the situation with them,” a PDL spokeswoman said at the time.

Why didn’t Max just call himself? Think of the legal fees he could have saved both companies if he had just looked in the mirror and had a heart-to-heart talk.

Meanwhile, Alexion founder and ceo Leonard Bell said Alexion did not violate any patents. “I feel the claims have no merit, and we’ll certainly defend ourselves vigorously,” he argued.

Well, did Max konw that? If so, maybe he could have told himself - and PDL - not to file suit. But just what did Max know? And when did he know it? Wasn’t that patent lawsuit in the works for awhile before the March 16 filing? Yet he didn’t resign from the PDL board until April 9.

“Dr. Link has served on PDL’s board for over a decade, and he is held in the highest regard by each of our board members, and by me personally. He has made many significant contributions to the company throughout his tenure with us, and his leadership has been outstanding,” gushes Mark McDade, PDL’s ceo, in announcing Link’s resignation.

Really, Mark? If Max couldn’t figure this out for himself, shouldn’t you or a PDL board member have suggested that he step down before this occurred? What happened to that Code of Conduct? Max should have been a missing Link weeks ago.

PDL Corporate Governance (see Code of Conduct section);
March 20 story in The New Haven Register about the patent lawsuit;
PDL statement about Max’s resignation;
Here’s Max listed on the Alexion board;
Here’s Max listed on the PDL board;
March 16 docket showing lawsuit filing.[tags]Alexion Pharmaceuticals, PDL BioPharma[/tags]