By Renata Geraldo / The Seattle Times
EDMONDS — Clay Siegall, former CEO of biotech company Seagen, will not face charges related to his April arrest at his Edmonds-area home, the city prosecutor said Wednesday, citing “evidentiary reasons.”
Once the highest paid CEO in Washington, Siegall resigned from Seagen in May after allegations that he had assaulted his now-former wife.
Siegall, who also served as Seagen chairperson, denied the allegations made by police after his April 23 arrest. Police contended at the time that Siegall, 62, assaulted his wife early that morning during an argument witnessed by guests at their Woodway home.
Yelena Stock, an attorney on contract as Woodway’s municipal prosecutor, said her office will not pursue charges against Siegall due to “evidentiary reasons.” She declined to comment further.
In an emailed statement provided by his attorney, Siegall said he looks forward to continuing to develop cancer treatments, the work he engaged in at Seagen.
“I want to express my sincere gratitude to the … City Attorney’s Office and the two Assistant City Attorneys for spending the necessary time and energy to review and evaluate the facts of this case and the credibility of all the witnesses in order to reach a just result,” Siegall said through his attorney, Michele Shaw.
Siegall’s ex-wife declined to comment. The couple’s divorce was finalized Oct. 10.
Siegall, who co-founded Seagen in 1997, took a leave of absence after news of his arrest appeared in pharmaceutical trade publications. His resignation was approved by Seagen’s board of directors days later.
Siegall left Seagen, known as Seattle Genetics until 2020, with a severance package that included 1.5 times his annual salary and bonus, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Siegall was paid $16.5 million in 2020, making him Washington state’s highest paid CEO that year, as calculated by The Associated Press and the executive data firm Equilar.
When Siegall’s leave of absence was announced, Seagen said it was also launching an independent investigation into his conduct. In a news release in May, the company said that “Siegall’s resignation has not been driven by findings from the investigation.”
The company did not immediately respond to requests for comment Wednesday evening.
Specializing in cancer technology, Seagen reported $1.6 billion in revenue in 2021 and a market capitalization of $26.2 billion. Besides the Seattle area, the company has locations in California, Canada, Switzerland and the European Union.
Seagen announced last April it was expanding its manufacturing capacity with a 270,000-square-foot facility in Bothell. The company said Siegall’s resignation would not affect the plans and schedule for the manufacturing plant.
“Seagen expects to have the facility operational in 2024 and ultimately employ up to 200 highly skilled workers to produce medicines for clinical trials and the commercial market,” the company said in a news release.
Siegall also resigned as chairperson of Umoja Biopharma, a Seattle-based biotech startup. San Francisco-based Nurix Therapeutics said in an SEC filing that Siegall has resigned from its board as well.
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