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SCHEDULE 14A INFORMATION
PROXY STATEMENT PURSUANT TO SECTION 14(a)
OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
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NORTHFIELD LABORATORIES INC.
(Name of Registrant as Specified in its Charter)
C. ROBERT COATES
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3) Filing Party: C. Robert Coates
4) Date Filed: July 15, 2002
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Press Release
SOURCE: C. Robert Coates
C. Robert Coates Asks Northfield Labs' CEO and Directors to Focus on Increasing
Share Price
Lake Forest, IL, July 15 -- C. Robert Coates said, "Northfield Labs (NASDAQ:
NFLD) stock sold for over $20 less than a year ago. Now it is stuck near its
52-week low of $3.20."
"We think that Northfield's CEO and directors can immediately take action to
increase the share price. People buy stocks primarily to make money, not to
plaster them on their wall some day. Northfield's investors see an opportunity
to make huge returns on their money and to save lives with Polyheme. That's why
so many of them have held their shares for so long."
"Dick DeWoskin and the directors need to stop the misleading and incomplete
disclosure that has characterized this company for the last five years or more.
Northfield's press release on July 11 is just one more example of this."
"Northfield filed this press release with the SEC, so Northfield's CEO Dick
DeWoskin and his attorneys no doubt scrutinized it with the same care they
applied to the company's filing with the FDA."
"Unfortunately, DeWoskin's brief press release contains so many inaccuracies and
innuendos that they can not all be addressed in one place. DeWoskin's press
release incorrectly states that we 'threatened and abandoned' proxy contests in
2000 and 2001."
"He also calls into question our credentials and the accuracy of our press
releases by saying: 'Northfield does not intend to comment on the accuracy or
substance of the statements made by the dissident Coates or the quality of his
credentials with respect to a directorship on Northfield's board' 'until the
nominating committee and the board make their final determination regarding
nominations....'"
"DeWoskin also provides misleading statements about the nominating committee."
"We plan to address each of these misleading statements in a filing with the SEC
and make that filing readily available to Northfield's shareholders."
"We ask Dick DeWoskin and the directors to join with us in finding a major
pharmaceutical company to partner with Northfield. This pharmaceutical company
would provide the money and the management talent needed to complete the filing
with the FDA and gain approval."
"In order to attract a major pharmaceutical company, DeWoskin will need to
transition his duties to a new CEO. In addition, several of the current
directors who have no obvious reason to continue serving on the board will need
to resign. These directors include Jack Olshansky, David Savner and Bruce
Chelberg. Or the board can simply add more directors as is permitted by the
company's bylaws."
"In the mean time, DeWoskin and the directors can start by disclosing material
information to shareholders including the FDA rejection letter and progress by
Northfield in completing its BLA. This will immediately benefit the
shareholders. The only reason not to disclose this information is that it may
cost DeWoskin and several of the directors their jobs at Northfield Labs."
If you are a shareholder and have any comments, suggestions or questions, please
call Simon Goldberg of The RobertCoates Group at 1-800-295-0841, extension 240
or email us at sgoldberg@rcoates.com.
SOURCE: C. Robert Coates