How avoid "argument isn't numeric" warning when evaluating $VERSION?

Suppose that in package Someones::Module I have:

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$Someones::Module::VERSION = '1.4417_001';
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And then in a different module I have:

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die "Need more recent version of Someones::Module" unless 
$Someones::Module::VERSION >= "1.40";
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This will generate a warning like this:

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Argument "1.4417_001" isn't numeric in numeric ge (>=) at ...
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I would like to submit a patch for the relevant module.  What is the 
recommended way of numifying $Someones::Module::VERSION in the '>=' 
comparison?

Or is there a better approach?

Thank you very much.
Jim Keenan