Karyopharm Therapeutics Inc. (Nasdaq: KPTI), a commercial-stage pharmaceutical company pioneering novel cancer therapies, today announced the appointment of Reshma Rangwala, MD, PhD, as the Company’s Chief Medical Officer. Dr. Rangwala will join the Company in mid-April 2022 and will be responsible for leading the Company’s clinical development programs and strategy.
“We are delighted to have Dr. Rangwala join our team at this transformative point in our Company’s evolution,” said Richard Paulson, President and Chief Executive Officer of Karyopharm. “Her extensive experience developing and executing clinical strategies for novel oncology therapeutics, as well as engaging regulators and the medical community at all stages of development, will be of immeasurable value as we accelerate our four core programs in clinical development.”
“I am thrilled to join the Karyopharm team at this exciting and pivotal time in the company’s growth,” said Dr. Rangwala. “Given their unique mechanism of action, both XPOVIO® (selinexor) and eltanexor have significant potential for patients battling an array of cancer types and I look forward to leading the future clinical development and advancing both assets through the clinic. I am impressed with both the team and the science of XPO1 inhibition and I am excited to realize the potential of these important therapies.”
Dr. Rangwala brings to Karyopharm more than a decade of experience in oncology and drug development. She was most recently the Chief Medical Officer at Aravive where she led the clinical development of batiraxcept across multiple tumor types. Prior to Aravive, she served as Vice President, Medical, at Genmab where she led the clinical development program for a first-in-class antibody drug conjugate and managed clinical strategy, protocol development, data monitoring, data analysis, study report authoring, and biologic licensing application preparations. Prior to Genmab, she served as Executive Clinical Director at Merck & Co., where she was involved in the clinical development of KEYTRUDA in non-small cell lung cancer and gynecologic malignancies. She received her B.S. in Biology from Duke University and her M.D./Ph.D. from the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. Dr. Rangwala completed her internal medicine residency at Barnes Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, MO and her medical oncology fellowship at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.
Further Transition of Co-Founders
Karyopharm also announced today that co-founders Sharon Shacham, PhD, MBA, and Michael Kauffman, MD, PhD will step down from their respective roles as Chief Scientific Officer and Senior Clinical Advisor as of May 31, 2022. Dr. Kauffman has stepped down from his role as a member of the Board of Directors. Dr. Shacham will continue to serve on Karyopharm’s Scientific Advisory Board and will serve in an advisory capacity.
“Through their unwavering dedication and passion, Drs. Shacham and Kauffman built Karyopharm from the ground up, bringing hope to countless cancer patients and their families. It has been an honor to work alongside them, and I’m truly grateful for their partnership over the last year. This executive transition has allowed us to glean as much knowledge and insight from our founders as possible, while also bolstering our leadership team in clinical and program management. We believe that we are well positioned for future success, with a promising and focused pipeline of assets as well as a strong commercial strategy,” concluded Mr. Paulson.
“I want to thank all of my colleagues at Karyopharm for their partnership over the years as we built the XPOVIO® and eltanexor franchises and advanced our development programs targeting both hematologic and solid tumor malignancies,” said Dr. Shacham. “I’m confident the team will continue to achieve its objectives and deliver value to investors, healthcare providers and most importantly, to patients.”
“It has been a pleasure working alongside the management team at Karyopharm as we grew the hypothesis about nuclear export and its role in cancer from an idea into a robust commercial enterprise with several programs in development that have significant potential for patients,” said Dr. Kauffman. “As the Company enters this next stage of its evolution and growth, I believe Karyopharm is well-positioned to deliver on its mission to bring differentiated medicines to patients battling cancer.”
About Karyopharm Therapeutics
Karyopharm Therapeutics Inc. (Nasdaq: KPTI) is a commercial-stage pharmaceutical company pioneering novel cancer therapies. Since its founding, Karyopharm has been the industry leader in oral Selective Inhibitor of Nuclear Export (SINE) compound technology, which was developed to address a fundamental mechanism of oncogenesis: nuclear export dysregulation. Karyopharm’s lead SINE compound and first-in-class, oral exportin 1 (XPO1) inhibitor, XPOVIO® (selinexor), is approved in the U.S. and marketed by the Company in three oncology indications and has received regulatory approvals in various indications in a growing number of ex-U.S. territories and countries, including Europe and the United Kingdom (as NEXPOVIO®), China and Singapore. Karyopharm has a focused pipeline targeting multiple high unmet need cancer indications, including in endometrial cancer, myelodysplastic syndromes and myelofibrosis. For more information about our people, science and pipeline, please visit www.karyopharm.com, and follow us on Twitter at @Karyopharm and LinkedIn.
