Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc (AUPH)

Couldbe, you’re right. It’s in Otsuka’s best interest to grab this. They could have gotten it at a bargain when PG was the CEO but now it will cost them a little more as this activist investor CEO we have now will not settle for a chump change more so now that solid data are coming back fast and furious. GSK has the bigger pocket and Benlysta’s patent is soon expiring, so I said these may two may duke it out soon enough . We don’t know what’s going on behind the curtain. We may just be surprised one day when the BO news comes out.

Just my opinion…

Jesspro, Otsuka already sells the drug in many countries,
if any company understands the potential it should be them.
Why they have not made a BO offer yet is beyond me. As time
goes by the patent clock continues to run and the potential value
of AUPH goes up as other drugs play out. The sooner Otsuka owns
AUPH the better it is for Otsuka. Plus, if they do not move first, some
other company could make a deal that would lock them out.

Hey Ganz, if AUPH will be bought I still think Otsuka or GSK will be the one to do it, Otsuka being that they know the oddity and experience of marketing the product as well as the behavior of the medical community towards it and GSK knowing that Lupkynis is very effective and a much better fit for LN, not to mention the patent strength of Lupe and the improving pipeline of auph. Hopefully, it could be soon.

Just my opinion.

Could. It would be nice to have some news like a BO for instance, but thinking it might be too soon after Tang decided to forego any salary.  Thinking that might implicate some kind of insider knowledge, but maybe not.  Maybe news of increased L uptake. 

Hoping for near term news or a short squeeze.
I may sell some if it goes above 20 and hold the
rest for a BO or some other sell on news event.
If that happens i may take a small position in
INBX. Over 8 million shares of AUPH are short.
That is a lot of pain for anyone to absorb. My
guess is when we see some nice spikes in the
price that may be some shorts getting bought in.
This has to be the stupidest stock to be short!

Flying today. GLTA

Thanks Cosa, I miss the good old days but still hold strong, we miss ya buddy.AUPH remains a wild, fun exciting ride!

Well looks like we closed at a new 4 yr high.  Hopefully in some time we can challenge the 5 yr high. That of course would be $33 but I’m not so sure we capture that.  Will be looking to take some profits mid twenties.  Of course Tang may find an acquirer and that decision could be taken out of our hands. GLTA

CEO bought 815k common shares in 5 days(5/29-6/02).

Not adding, but at this point I'm in for the duration.

It's like yesterday Tang's purchase was so important. One day later it matters no more. Actually I think the whole market getting hit. Those overbought overhyped tech stocks creating a big wake as they tumble.

https://finance.yahoo.com/sectors/healthcare/articles/lupkynis-associated-statistically-significant-53-110000525.html

Holding and adding for some of us

Hey you longtime holders, glad you guys are doing well here! I was so upset when the CEO was voted out and they kept him on, that was years ago... But cheers to you all for holding $.

The latest news might just do it. I hope Cervelo is still in.

If we can clear the 16's we have open sky above.

Tang bought more shares.

TANG CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, LLC FILES EARLY WARNING REPORT RESPECTING AURINIA PHARMACEUTICALS INC.June 3, 2026 12:43 AM
PR Newswire (Canada) SAN DIEGO, June 3, 2026 /CNW/ - Tang Capital Management, LLC announces that on June 2, 2026, it acquired 206,005 common shares (the "Common Shares") of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: AUPH) (the "Issuer") at a price of US $15.28 per share (approximately CAD $21.13 per share) for an aggregate purchase price of US $3.1 million (approximately CAD $4.35 million) by way of the public market.Immediately prior to the transaction, Tang Capital Management, LLC held 12,838,101 Common Shares of the Issuer. As a result of the purchase, Tang Capital Management, LLC beneficially owns 13,044,106 Common Shares, representing approximately 10.0% of the issued and outstanding Common Shares of the Issuer immediately following June 2, 2026.This news release is issued pursuant to National Instrument 62-103 – The Early Warning System and Related Take-Over Bid and Insider Reporting Issues of the Canadian Securities Administrators, which also requires an early warning report to be filed with the applicable securities regulators containing additional information with respect to the foregoing matters. A copy of the early warning report filed by Tang Capital Management, LLC will be available under the Issuer's profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca or by contacting Michael Hearne, Chief Financial Officer at (858) 200-3830. The Tang Capital Management, LLC head office is located at 4747 Executive Drive, Suite 210, San Diego, CA 92121.SOURCE Tang Capital Management, LLC Original: TANG CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, LLC FILES EARLY WARNING REPORT RESPECTING AURINIA PHARMACEUTICALS INC.

Getting taken to the woodshed today. I must be missing it because I thought esrnings was pretty decent. 

Guessing that the best shot forward is counting on Tang. He has his money on the line

How's everyone voting in this new round of proxy? Are we on team Tang for the hopeful conclusion? Or some No votes coming out?

Spot on buddy, I have to say, I’m shocked Cerv isn’t whining anymore, I was starting to like it!

This was the classic of your company (KZR) cashing out on the backs of AUPH shareholders. Nothing more, nothing less. Tang used his influence to make it happen. That is why they pushed out Pete to make this deal. This deal stinks as you can see in the sp of AUPH. 

Read Dew Diligence on Biotech Values. Sold for almost nothing.

This deal is tantamount to a cheap financing transaction for AUPH insofar as the deal value of ~$50M is approximately equal to KZR’s net current assets.

Aritinercept, AUR200 was bought for 1MM along with AUR 300 which is on hold, and now KEZAR for 1MM. I think this is a steal for future upward movement, TANG in charge, kind of like A.Denner, when he sold Ariad, lets make a deal.. All the BIO's I monitor and own, are down today and have been down for a while. Sell the news. 2 pm and only 780 thousand buy and sell, hold and enjoy.

Yep . Tangs rough cost in KZR was I think less than $2 a share so he's made $ getting AUPH to buy them .
Now he just needs to find a buyer for AUPH and AUPH seems to be making $ .

Kiwi

Yep, think I mentioned that in a post earlier. We will have to see what Tang has planned to erase those losses.  He has been a loud voice here in AUPHie for shareholder value so can’t see him destroying AUPH with this acquisition. Still it seems like a venture that won’t pay off for quite a while, if it ever does. 

Tang knows exactly what he is getting here. Tang Capital Partners owns 9% of KZR.

Kezar Life Sciences (KZR) encountered several adverse events across its clinical trials for zetomipzomib (KZR-616), ranging from mild injection site reactions to multiple patient fatalities that led to the discontinuation of its lead program.

Fatalities and Serious Adverse Events (SAEs)
The most significant setbacks occurred in late 2024 during the Phase 2b PALIZADE trial for lupus nephritis:
Patient Deaths: Four Grade 5 (fatal) serious adverse events were reported in patients from the Philippines and Argentina.

Symptom Pattern: An independent review found that three of these fatalities exhibited a "common pattern of symptoms" and occurred in close proximity to dosing.
Non-Fatal SAEs: Additional non-fatal serious adverse events also showed a similar proximity to dosing.
Outcome: These events led to a voluntary suspension of the trial, followed by a formal FDA Clinical Hold and the eventual termination of the entire lupus nephritis program.
Kezar Life Sciences
Kezar Life Sciences

Good luck
Kiwi

Well maybe you're missing that Tang's buying a Co bleeding cash
2025 Quarterly Net Loss Breakdown
Q4 2025: Reported a net loss of $13.7 million (estimated based on reported annual vs. quarterly data).
Q3 2025: Reported a net loss of $11.2 million.
Q2 2025: Reported a net loss of $13.7 million.
Q1 2025: Reported a net loss of $16.6 million.
Kezar Life Sciences
Kezar Life Sciences

Kiwi

That was some time ago ...havent owned them in awhile . They had the best data on LN but then ran into some unexpected adverse events in their trial IIRC .
Kiwi
Whalatane
Re: Whalatane post# 31
Tuesday, April 04, 2023 2:11:19 PM
Post# of 45
As an update . After doing more research into NVS's Cosentyx and their P 3 trial a week or so ago .....I sold most of my KZR position ...retaining only 100 shares..
I liked the KZR data but now realize that if the Cosentyx LN trial succeeds ( primary completion Jan 2025 ) , they will file for accelerated approval and dominate the non generic drug portion of this market.
The lesson from this .
Know the competition and don't fall in love with a stock
Kiwi

Kezar Life Sciences shares surge after Aurinia announces acquisitionMarch 30, 2026 11:07 AM
IH Market News
Kezar Life Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ:KZR) shares jumped about 19% on Monday after Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:AUPH) announced an agreement to acquire the company for $6.955 per share in cash plus a contingent value right (CVR).Under the terms of the deal, the CVR could provide additional payments tied to the clinical development or potential sale of Kezar’s lead drug candidate zetomipzomib. The CVR may also include proceeds related to Kezar’s collaboration with Everest Medicines, the sale of its Sec61-based program to Enodia Therapeutics, and 100% of Kezar’s closing net cash above $50 million, after certain CVR-related expenses.Zetomipzomib is Kezar’s lead asset and is described as a first-in-class immunoproteasome inhibitor currently being developed to treat autoimmune hepatitis, lupus nephritis, and systemic lupus erythematosus. The drug demonstrated durable, clinically meaningful steroid-sparing remissions in patients during the PORTOLA Phase 2 study in autoimmune hepatitis. Kezar also reported positive discussions with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration during a recent Type C meeting regarding the drug’s development pathway in AIH.Kezar’s board of directors unanimously approved the acquisition following a strategic review conducted with management and external advisors.Aurinia plans to launch a tender offer by April 13, 2026, to purchase all outstanding shares of Kezar. Completion of the transaction will depend on several conditions, including the tender of a majority of Kezar’s outstanding shares, the company maintaining more than $50 million in closing net cash, and other customary closing requirements.Tang Capital Partners, which owns approximately 9% of Kezar’s outstanding shares, has signed a tender and support agreement committing to tender its holdings and back the transaction.The acquisition is expected to close in the second quarter of 2026. TD Cowen served as Kezar’s exclusive financial advisor, while Cooley LLP acted as legal counsel for the company.Kezar Life Sciences stock priceAurinia Pharmaceuticals stock price

Original: Kezar Life Sciences shares surge after Aurinia announces acquisition

What am I missing here? Sure looks to me like Tang just bought KZR using KZR's own cash.

AUPH is paying $6.95 per share (plus the CVRs) for KZR - a total of about $51MM. Terms of the deal include a requirement that KZR needs to have at least $50MM in net cash at time of closing (with the excess above $50MM being returned to KZR shareholders in the form of the first CVR). KZR has around $70MM cash now and a quarterly burn rate of around $10MM.

KZR has no long term debt.

Looks to me like AUPH is paying $1MM for KZR's drug pipeline (plus a couple other relatively "soft" CVRs).

Again - what am I missing?

If I could read TANG's mind, I would have bought more, just hoping for a promising ride again.

zetomipzomib, is a drug in development for patients with autoimmune hepatitis, lupus nephritis and systemic lupus erythematosus. The drug has demonstrated clinically meaningful and durable steroid-sparing remissions in a previous study, and Kezar had positive interactions with the Food and Drug Administration in a recent meeting about zetomipzomib.

The deal also includes potential payments relating to the ongoing clinical development or disposition of zetomipzomib. Shareholders will also get the right to certain proceeds relating to Kezar's collaboration with Everest Medicines and Kezar's sale of its Sec61-based discovery-and-development program to Enodia Therapeutics and 100% of Kezar's closing net cash in excess of $50 million.

Kiwi loved him some Kezar LOL

Any idea what the plan is. KZR's drug candidate is another LN drug. Buying KZR to block future competition or is it a better version of Lupkynis? Also KZR bleeding money so how will Tang stop that?

And, I will defer judgement to see how this turns out, but you can't say that we are no longer a 1 product company. The KZR drug is still deep in clinical trials. Their website shows their pipeline as the one drug in phase 2 trial.

But Tang must be getting a good price as apparently there are already ambulance chasing law firms investigating whether KZR shareholders are getting screwed. I guess they had a reverse split in the last year or so, since Tang tried to buy it the first time.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals to Acquire Kezar Life Sciences for $6.955 in Cash per Share Plus a Contingent Value Right, Tang is making his move. It's about time. No longer a 1 product company.

AUPH. I typoed a space in there...:)

Care to share what a UPH is? TIA

MKT Capital applauds:

CAYMAN ISLANDS--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- MKT Capital Ltd. (together with its affiliates, “MKT Capital” or “we”), a significant long-term shareholder of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc. (AUPH) (“Aurinia” or the “Company”), today issued the following statement in response to the Company’s announcement that Kevin Tang has been appointed Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately.
Antoine Khalife, Founder of MKT Capital, stated:
“Today marks a watershed moment for Aurinia shareholders. Since 2019, we have tirelessly advocated for accountability, disciplined capital allocation, and genuine alignment between management and the true owners of this Company – its shareholders. The Board’s decision to remove CEO Peter Greenleaf and his executive team, and to install Chair Kevin Tang as CEO, represents a complete validation of the concerns we have raised for nearly three years.
“We are particularly encouraged that Mr. Tang has elected to receive zero compensation – no salary, no bonuses, no equity awards. This stands in stark contrast to the previous regime, where CEO Greenleaf received approximately $26 million in payouts from 2019 to 2022 while shareholders suffered devastating losses and a negative 18% total return over three years. The new leadership team’s modest compensation structure, with base salaries of $300,000 for both the new CFO and COO, signals a refreshing return to fiscal discipline.
“We commend the Board for finally heeding the will of shareholders. In 2023, our successful withhold campaign led to the removal of Chairman George Milne and Compensation Committee Chair Joseph Hagan. In 2024, shareholders withheld majority support from Mr. Greenleaf for the first time. Today, the Board has completed what shareholders have demanded: a complete transformation of Aurinia’s leadership.
“The changes implemented under Mr. Tang’s chairmanship – reducing the size of the Board from nine to six members, discontinuing non-core R&D programs generating over $50 million in annual savings, launching a $150 million share repurchase program, and eliminating time-based RSUs in favor of performance-based awards – were exactly the reforms we called for. Today’s management overhaul completes this transformation.
“We believe Aurinia now has the right leadership to unlock the full potential of LUPKYNIS and maximize value for all shareholders. We intend to remain long-term, supportive shareholders and look forward to Aurinia’s new chapter of disciplined execution and shareholder value creation.
“We extend our sincere best wishes to Mr. Tang and the new Aurinia management team as they pursue the continued commercial success of LUPKYNIS, advance the development of AUR200, and responsibly steward shareholder capital. We are confident that under this new leadership, Aurinia’s resources will be deployed wisely and in the best interests of all shareholders.”
Background
MKT Capital has been a significant shareholder of Aurinia since 2019. Over the past three years, MKT Capital has engaged in constructive activism to improve corporate governance and shareholder alignment at the Company, including:
April 2023: Launched public campaign calling for removal of Chairman George Milne, CEO Peter Greenleaf, and Compensation Committee Chair Joseph Hagan, citing egregious executive compensation and shareholder value destruction.
May 2023: Successful withhold campaign resulted in Chairman Milne and Director Hagan receiving less than majority support; both subsequently resigned.
July 2023: Company initiated strategic review process following shareholder pressure.
September 2024: Kevin Tang appointed to the Board and subsequently named Chairman.
April 2025: MKT Capital announced intention to withhold support for CEO Greenleaf at 2025 Annual Meeting.
March 2026: CEO Greenleaf and executive team depart (March 20); Kevin Tang appointed CEO with zero compensation (March 23).

https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260323768542/en/

The is terrific:

I have.  

Jess - I think the move to actually being the CEO is much more significant than not taking salary. As Chairman of the board, he only gets to lead the board and vote in board decisions. As CEO, he actually makes operational decisions.
I think the reason that he’s taking no salary is that allows him to avoid paying income taxes on any income through a UPH. He will simply be paying capital gains taxes when AUPH is sold.  

And he’s not taking any salary which means something is very close to what we’ve been waiting.

I have posted on various boards, I am invested here
with a profit and hope to sell upon an annoucement of
a BO of the company. I think Tang will get a BO offer,
sooner or later.

Most of you have been here for ten years, right?

With Greenleaf & crew gone, Tang & his crew are
fully in control now. My hope is it will lead to a legitamate
BP BO. So happy to see PG leave. Tang appears to
be competent. Perhaps certain BP would not want to deal
with PG on a BO so maybe now they will take a fresh look
at AUPH since an adult is in charge. (I also find it disgusting
that PG never used any of his own money to buy AUPH stock.)

Okay, Board, it's time for everyone to awaken. Tang bought enough stock to effect the ousters of dead weight. Onward and upward. The annual meeting audio version was bullish. Lupy actually had a decent 4th quarter and the 2026 outlook was good. New product testing is on schedule and may have several applications. So.....now we get to see what an unencumbered Tang can do to unleash this company.

Finally some great news....

Aurinia Announces Management Transition
ROCKVILLE, Maryland & EDMONTON, Alberta--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: AUPH) announced today that Kevin Tang, Aurinia’s Chair of the Board, will succeed Peter Greenleaf as Chief Executive Officer. Peter will continue as a consultant to facilitate the transition.

“Aurinia thanks Peter for his many contributions to the Company over his 7-year tenure and wishes him the best in his future endeavors,” stated Mr. Tang. “Aurinia today is in an extremely strong position in no small part due to Peter’s stewardship. LUPKYNIS is emerging as a standard therapy for lupus nephritis, and our lead pipeline product, aritinercept, is advancing quickly through clinical studies. I look forward to working closely with the Aurinia team on our quest to bring life-altering treatments to patients suffering from autoimmune diseases.”

Aurinia also has appointed Ryan Cole as Chief Operating Officer, Michael Hearne as Chief Financial Officer and Thomas Wei as Chief Scientific Officer. Stew Kroll and Stephen Robertson will continue in their roles as Chief Development Officer and General Counsel, respectively.

About Aurinia

Aurinia is a biopharmaceutical company focused on delivering therapies to people living with autoimmune diseases with high unmet medical needs. In January 2021, the Company introduced LUPKYNIS® (voclosporin), the first FDA-approved oral therapy for the treatment of adult patients with active lupus nephritis. Aurinia is also developing aritinercept, a dual inhibitor of B cell-activating factor (BAFF) and a proliferation-inducing ligand (APRIL) for the potential treatment of autoimmune diseases.

No question it is bullish. There was a small sale by the CMO on 03/06 but that could have been to pay taxes or whatever since a week before he was gifted a bunch via stock options. Another thing that is bullish, I would think, is the updated American College of Rheumatology guidelines that recommend Lupyknis as a first-line therapy. Should get us past the fighting with Benlysta.