Clay Siegall, cofounder and former CEO of Seagen. (Ken Lambert / The Seattle Times)

Clay Siegall, cofounder and former CEO of Seagen. (Ken Lambert / The Seattle Times)

Ex-Seagen CEO Clay Siegall will not face charges related to April arrest

Siegall resigned after allegations that he had assaulted his now-former wife.

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.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

Vehicles travel along Mukilteo Speedway on Sunday, April 21, 2024, in Mukilteo, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Mukilteo cameras go live to curb speeding on Speedway

Starting Friday, an automated traffic camera system will cover four blocks of Mukilteo Speedway. A 30-day warning period is in place.

Carli Brockman lets her daughter Carli, 2, help push her ballot into the ballot drop box on the Snohomish County Campus on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Here’s who filed for the primary election in Snohomish County

Positions with three or more candidates will go to voters Aug. 5 to determine final contenders for the Nov. 4 general election.

Students from Explorer Middle School gather Wednesday around a makeshift memorial for Emiliano “Emi” Munoz, who died Monday, May 5, after an electric bicycle accident in south Everett. (Aspen Anderson / The Herald)
Community and classmates mourn death of 13-year-old in bicycle accident

Emiliano “Emi” Munoz died from his injuries three days after colliding with a braided cable.

Danny Burgess, left, and Sandy Weakland, right, carefully pull out benthic organisms from sediment samples on Thursday, May 1, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
‘Got Mud?’ Researchers monitor the health of the Puget Sound

For the next few weeks, the state’s marine monitoring team will collect sediment and organism samples across Puget Sound

Everett postal workers gather for a portrait to advertise the Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive on Wednesday, May 7, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Snohomish County letter carriers prepare for food drive this Saturday

The largest single-day food drive in the country comes at an uncertain time for federal food bank funding.

Everett
Everett considers ordinance to require more apprentice labor

It would require apprentices to work 15% of the total labor hours for construction or renovation on most city projects over $1 million.

A person walks past Laura Haddad’s “Cloud” sculpture before boarding a Link car on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024 in SeaTac, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Sound Transit seeks input on Everett bike, pedestrian improvements

The transit agency is looking for feedback about infrastructure improvements around new light rail stations.

A standard jet fuel, left, burns with extensive smoke output while a 50 percent SAF drop-in jet fuel, right, puts off less smoke during a demonstration of the difference in fuel emissions on Tuesday, March 28, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Sustainable aviation fuel center gets funding boost

A planned research and development center focused on sustainable aviation… Continue reading

Dani Mundell, the athletic director at Everett Public Schools, at Everett Memorial Stadium on Wednesday, May 14, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Will Geschke / The Herald)
Everett Public Schools to launch girls flag football as varsity sport

The first season will take place in the 2025-26 school year during the winter.

Clothing Optional performs at the Fisherman's Village Music Festival on Thursday, May 15 in Everett, Washington. (Will Geschke / The Herald)
Everett gets its fill of music at Fisherman’s Village

The annual downtown music festival began Thursday and will continue until the early hours of Sunday.

Seen here are the blue pens Gov. Bob Ferguson uses to sign bills. Companies and other interest groups are hoping he’ll opt for red veto ink on a range of tax bills. (Photo by Jacquelyn Jimenez Romero/Washington State Standard)
Tesla, Netflix, Philip Morris among those pushing WA governor for tax vetoes

Gov. Bob Ferguson is getting lots of requests to reject new taxes ahead of a Tuesday deadline for him to act on bills.

Jerry Cornfield / Washington State Standard
A new law in Washington will assure students are offered special education services until they are 22. State Sen. Adrian Cortes, D-Battle Ground, a special education teacher, was the sponsor. He spoke of the need for increased funding and support for public schools at a February rally of educators, parents and students at the Washington state Capitol.
Washington will offer special education to students longer under new law

A new law triggered by a lawsuit will ensure public school students… Continue reading

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.