Clay Siegall, the CEO, president, and chairman of Bothell, Wash.-based biotech giant Seagen, is taking a leave of absence as the company investigates allegations of domestic violence.
“The company is aware of an alleged incident of domestic violence that occurred recently at Dr. Siegall’s home,” Seagen said in a press release Monday.
Siegall denied these allegations and informed the company that he is engaged in a divorce, according to the statement.
Seagen has formed a committee to conduct an investigation, with the assistance of a law firm. Roger Dansey, Seagen’s chief medical officer, has been appointed interim CEO.
“We have high standards for employee conduct, we condemn domestic violence in all its forms, and we are treating these allegations with the utmost seriousness,” said Nancy Simonian, chair of Seagen’s nominating and corporate governance committee. “At this time, the facts are still uncertain, and our decisions will be guided by the outcome of our investigation.”
Shares were down more than 8% on Monday.
Siegall has been the company’s CEO since he co-founded the company, then called Seattle Genetics, in 1998. The company’s first oncology drug, Adcetris, was approved in 2011, and it now has four commercial products and employs 2,800 people in the Seattle area, Canada, Switzerland, and Europe. New plans are also in place to build a 270,000 square foot manufacturing facility north of Seattle. Seagen’s market value is $20 billion.
Siegall previously worked at Bristol Myers Squibb Pharmaceutical Research Institute and the National Cancer Institute. He is also chairman of the board of Seattle-based Umoja Biopharma. Editor’s note: Siegall resigned from the board of Umoja on May 11.
Prior to joining Seagen, Dansey was senior vice president of clinical oncology research at Merck, a vice president at Gilead Sciences and executive medical director global development at Amgen. Dansey joined Seagen in 2018.
