– USA, MA – Karyopharm Therapeutics Inc. (Nasdaq:KPTI), a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company, today announced the appointment of Carsten Thiel, Ph.D., to its Board of Directors. Dr. Thiel is currently Chief Executive Officer of Abeona Therapeutics Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing novel cell and gene therapies. Prior to joining Abeona, Dr. Thiel served as the Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer of Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a leading global biopharmaceutical company focused on serving patients affected by rare diseases.
“Dr. Thiel brings extensive experience leading some of our industry’s most innovative and commercially successful pharmaceutical companies,” said Michael G. Kauffman, MD, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Karyopharm. “His strategic insight and operational expertise commercializing medicines in international markets will be invaluable as we prepare to bring our lead clinical candidate, selinexor, to patients across the globe and maximize its full commercial potential. We are thrilled to welcome him to the Karyopharm team and look forward to his many contributions to our Board of Directors.”
Dr. Thiel brings over 25 years of global biopharmaceutical industry experience, including successfully leading teams responsible for the initial launch and commercialization of hematology/oncology medicines. While at Alexion, he led one of the most successful enzyme replacement commercial launches in history. Prior to leading the overall commercial organization at Alexion, he served as its Senior Vice President, Europe/Middle East/Africa and Asia Pacific where he was responsible for driving Alexion’s global commercial operations in these regions, which included guiding the launch of Strensiq® and Kanuma® in new metabolic indications.
“I am excited to be joining Karyopharm as the Company prepares to transition from a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company to a global, commercial oncology leader,” said Dr. Thiel. “I believe that selinexor has the potential to significantly impact the lives of patients suffering from cancer and I look forward to bringing my experience in product commercialization, business development, and biomedical research to help guide the management team at Karyopharm.”
Prior to joining Alexion, Dr. Thiel served as Vice President, Head of Europe at Amgen. In this role, he led regional operations for over 4,500 employees and was responsible for multiple products in hematology/oncology, nephrology, and bone disorders, as well as prepared for new product launches in inflammation and cardiology. He also held various other senior leadership positions at Amgen, including General Manager, Germany, and General Manager, Central and Eastern Europe, where he expanded the company’s presence into four new markets. He also served as Head of the Oncology franchise in Europe during the time of several blockbuster product launches. Prior to Amgen, Dr. Thiel held several sales and marketing leadership roles across Europe at Roche.
“Dr. Thiel is an inspiring, strategic leader who is extremely thoughtful and solution-driven,” said Barry Greene, lead independent Director and Chair of the Nominating and Governance Committee. “He has an extraordinary record in leading organizations to unprecedented growth and, importantly, knows how to shape markets while maintaining the highest levels of integrity. We are truly excited to have such a strong industry leader join our Board of Directors.”
Dr. Thiel conducted his doctorate in molecular biology and biochemistry at Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry in Goettingen, Germany.
About Selinexor
Selinexor is a first-in-class, oral Selective Inhibitor of Nuclear Export compound. Selinexor functions by binding with and inhibiting the nuclear export protein XPO1 (also called CRM1), leading to the accumulation of tumor suppressor proteins in the cell nucleus. This reinitiates and amplifies their tumor suppressor function and is believed to lead to the selective induction of apoptosis in cancer cells, while largely sparing normal cells. To date, over 2,600 patients have been treated with selinexor. In April 2018, Karyopharm reported positive top-line data from the Phase 2b STORM study evaluating selinexor in combination with low-dose dexamethasone in patients with penta-refractory multiple myeloma. Selinexor has been granted Orphan Drug Designation in multiple myeloma and Fast Track designation for the patient population evaluated in the STORM study. Karyopharm has submitted a New Drug Application (NDA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), with a request for accelerated approval for oral selinexor as a new treatment for patients with penta-refractory multiple myeloma. The Company also plans to submit a Marketing Authorization Application (MAA) to the European Medicines Agency (EMA) in early 2019 with a request for conditional approval. Selinexor is also being evaluated in several other mid- and later-phase clinical trials across multiple cancer indications, including in multiple myeloma in a pivotal, randomized Phase 3 study in combination with Velcade® (bortezomib) and low-dose dexamethasone (BOSTON), as a potential backbone therapy in combination with approved therapies (STOMP), in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (SADAL), liposarcoma (SEAL), and an investigator-sponsored study in endometrial cancer (SIENDO), among others. Additional Phase 1, Phase 2 and Phase 3 studies are ongoing or currently planned, including multiple studies in combination with approved therapies in a variety of tumor types to further inform Karyopharm’s clinical development priorities for selinexor.
About Karyopharm Therapeutics
Karyopharm Therapeutics Inc. (Nasdaq:KPTI) is a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of novel first-in-class drugs directed against nuclear transport and related targets for the treatment of cancer and other major diseases. Karyopharm’s SINE compounds function by binding with and inhibiting the nuclear export protein XPO1 (or CRM1). In addition to single-agent and combination activity against a variety of human cancers, SINE compounds have also shown biological activity in models of neurodegeneration, inflammation, autoimmune disease, certain viruses and wound-healing. Karyopharm, which was founded by Dr. Sharon Shacham, currently has several investigational programs in clinical or preclinical development.
For more information : http://www.karyopharm.com
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