Karyopharm Therapeutics Announces Appointment of Cofounder Dr. Ronald DePinho to the National Academy of SciencesNatick, Mass. May 8, 2012
Karyopharm Therapeutics Inc., a leader in the new field of nuclear transport modulators, announces that co-founder Ronald A. DePinho MD, President of MD Anderson Cancer Center, has been appointed to the National Academy of Sciences.
Dr. DePinho has been a pioneer in cancer research for over 20 years. His laboratory has produced an array of discoveries including improved mouse models of human cancer, better understanding of the role of Myc oncogenes, p53, FOXO, and other tumor suppressor proteins, and links between cancer, inflammation and aging.
DePinho stated, “I am very enthusiastic about the potential for Karyopharm’s oral CRM1 nuclear export inhibitor KPT-330 to benefit patients with cancer. Selective inhibition of nuclear export – so called SINE – is a completely new approach to restore cells’ highly efficient endogenous tumor suppressing proteins to selectively eliminate cancer cells while sparing normal cells. These agents have shown outstanding preclinical activity in both mouse models and in dogs with naturally occurring cancers. I look forward to the first in human studies poised to begin in 2012.”
DePinho has provided scientific, medical and corporate guidance since becoming a co-founder of Karyopharm in 2009. Sharon Shacham, PhD, Karyopharm’s founder and chief scientific officer, commented, “Ron has been an invaluable advisor in building the Company from its inception on all fronts. With his recent appointment as president of MD Anderson, he continues to guide the Company as both a board member and scientific advisor. We look forward to continuing to build Karyopharm with Ron’s help, and congratulate him on this latest of many awards.”
About Karyopharm Therapeutics Inc.
Karyopharm is a biopharmaceutical company leading the development of small molecule modulators of nuclear transport. The Company was founded in late 2008 by Drs. Sharon Shacham, Michael Kauffman, Giulio Draetta and Ronald DePinho. Karyopharm has raised approximately $34M since its inception. The Company has won several grants/awards including a Biotech Investment Award by the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation in 2010. Karyopharm’s first program is directed towards the Selective Inhibition of Nuclear Export – its SINE program – targeting CRM1, the major nuclear export protein. By inhibiting the nuclear export of tumor suppressor proteins (TSP), Karyopharm’s drug candidates force the activation of the cell’s key TSP and anti-inflammatory pathways including p53, p21, pRB, FoxO, and IkB, the body’s inhibitor of nuclear factor NF-kB. Karyopharm anticipates entering the clinic in mid 2012 with KPT-330, its first oral SINE compound, for the treatment of various cancers in humans. Karyopharm’s oral SINE compounds are also being evaluated in canine cancers, particularly lymphoma, one of the most common dog tumors. The Company is also testing SINEs in autoimmune, viral and dermatologic disorders. Karyopharm Therapeutics is located in Natick, Massachusetts.
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