Investor calls for changes at XenoPort, highlighting Horizant failure

Clinton Group, one of the 10 largest owners of shares in XenoPort (Nasdaq: XNPT), has written to chief executive Ronald Barrett, calling for change in XenoPort's management and capital allocation.

As indicated in the letter, the Clinton believes XenoPort's assets are worth substantially more than the current stock price implies, but that changes are required for stockholders to realize that value. Clinton believes the fair value for the company is $13 to $16 per share.

Clinton is urging the company to shift capital resources away from marketing the restless-legs syndrome (RLS) drug Horizant (gabapentin enacarbil) toward developing its experimental multiple sclerosis candidate XP23829. The group is also calling for current chief executive Ronald Barrett to be replaced, saying XenoPort needs a chief executive "who will think like an owner, with a mandate to urgently execute on the company's best prospects and grow the value of its most promising asset, [XP23829]."