SkyePharma rebels push for Thian

Ian Gowrie-Smith, the founding chairman of SkyePharma, finally resigned yesterday as rebel shareholders kept up the pressure on the ailing drug developer to replace him with the industry veteran Bob Thian.

North Atlantic Value, which led a group of investors calling for Mr Gowrie-Smith's removal, said it would continue to push for an emergency shareholder meeting if SkyePharma refused to appoint Mr Thian, a former Glaxo executive who masterminded a restructuring at the medical equipment maker Whatman.

A spokesman for North Atlantic said: "There needs to be appointed a chairman who is a reforming chairman... We would rather have a chairman that we all know and trust."

SkyePharma said it would appoint a chairman at its next board meeting on 1 February, and stressed it would "strenuously oppose any attempts to force a candidate on to the board". It is meeting Mr Thian today but has also found other "high-quality" candidates.

SkyePharma's share price has suffered as the company failed to find a funding partner for a new asthma drug, Flutiform, and announced a deeply discounted rights issue instead.

Along with Morley Fund Management and the fund management arm of HBOS, Insight Investment, North Atlantic will lodge a notice with the company this week requisitioning an emergency meeting to appoint Mr Thian as chairman. The trio, which holds 13.15 per cent of the company and claims to have support of other investors, is demanding the board holds off appointing a new chief executive to replace Michael Ashton, who has announced his intention to retire.

Mr Gowrie-Smith, who earned £140,000 as non-executive chairman last year, will stay on the board as a non-executive director.