Drug maker's IPO isn't heaven-sent.

• Author: Richter, Chris
• Position: TAR HEEL TATTLER

Raleigh-based Voyager Pharmaceutical Corp. is trying to develop Memryte, its treatment for Alzheimer's disease. If its former chief scientific officer and co-founder had his way, it also would be working to glorify God.

That's what Voyager claims. It's suing Richard Bowen, who was fired in December, and Craig Atwood, research director at the Wisconsin Alzheimer's Institute and a former Voyager consultant. It contends that Bowen, aided by Atwood, undermined an initial public offering and threatened to publish confidential research. Preliminary bids on Dec. 7 indicated that the IPO would raise $65 million, $35 million below the goal. Voyager canceled the IPO Dec. 13, the day it let Bowen go.

Bowen founded Voyager with CEO Patrick Smith and Chief Financial Officer David Corcoran in February 2001. The suit alleges that Bowen began behaving strangely after he took time off in May 2005 to evaluate his role in the company. At the annual meeting in September, the suit says, Bowen demanded that "the glorification of God" be part of Voyager's mission statement. Those who didn't agree, he said, should leave the company.

After Bowen returned from a medical leave, Voyager says, he withheld from management research that would have helped the IPO. On Dec. 8, the suit says, Bowen warned some shareholders that God...