Cell Therapeutics boosts directors' compensation
Cell Therapeutics Inc., coming off of a turbulent year, has increased the compensation for directors who are not employees, the company disclosed Monday.
The compensation includes "special grants" of stock options to three directors who "made exceptional contributions in 2004 and 2005 [mainly voting for JB when his position was challenged, I guess] ," Cell Therapeutics disclosed in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The special grants consist of fully vested options for the purchase of common stock at an exercise price of $1.97 per share. Phillip M. Nudelman was granted 18,000 shares, Mary O. Mundinger was granted 12,000 shares and Vartan Gregorian was awarded 8,000 shares, according to the regulatory filing.
Nudelman, Mundinger and Gregorian also received bonus retainers of $9,000 each for their service in 2005.
Cell Therapeutics also increased the annual grant of stock options and retainers for nonemployee directors over several categories.
For example, the company increased the directors' annual retainer to $25,000 from $18,000.
Cell Therapeutics also increased directors' compensation for serving on key committees. Previously, directors were paid $1,000 to serve on and chair a committee. Under the new compensation schedule, the chair of the audit committee receives $7,500, and the chair of the compensation committee receives $5,000. All other committee chairs are paid $2,500.
The Seattle-based company (NASDAQ: CTIC) last year endured disappointing late-stage clinical results for an anti-cancer drug candidate called Xyotax. Earlier this year, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration agreed to a fast-track review of the drug.
The company shed scores of workers last year in a bid to trim its work force to 150 in 2006, down from 410 at the beginning of 2005.
Also in 2005, four company directors resigned after trying, unsuccessfully, to unseat CEO James Bianco.
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