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Karyopharm Appoints J. Scott Garland to Its Board of Directors

NEWTON, Mass.Nov. 4, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Karyopharm Therapeutics Inc. (Nasdaq:KPTI), a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company, today announced the appointment of J. Scott Garland, Senior Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer of Relypsa Inc., to the company's board of directors.

"Scott brings nearly 25 years of commercial leadership to Karyopharm from his experience at Genentech, Amgen, Merck, Exelixis and now at Relypsa," said Michael G. Kauffman, MD, PhD, Chief Executive Officer of Karyopharm Therapeutics. "Scott's skills and experience in leading oncology-focused sales and marketing organizations within the biopharmaceutical industry will be extremely valuable to us as we continue to pursue our aggressive commercialization strategy for our development programs, including our lead product candidate, Selinexor, which is poised to enter additional registration driven clinical studies in hematologic cancers before the end of this year."

"I see significant opportunity in Karyopharm's approach to developing first-in-class cancer treatments through nuclear transport targets," said Scott Garland. "The development and clinical progress of oral Selinexor is a testament to Karyopharm's approach to novel targeted therapies that promote cancer cell death. I look forward to working with Karyopharm's leadership team to advance the development of Selinexor, along with the company's pipeline of compounds targeting XPO1 and PAK4, with the goal of providing improved treatment options to patients with cancer and other diseases."

Scott is the newly appointed Chief Commercial Officer at Relypsa (Nasdaq:RLYP), a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of non-absorbed polymeric drugs to treat disorders in the areas of renal, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. Prior to joining Relypsa, he served as Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer of Exelixis, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing cancer treatments, from October 2011 to October 2014, where he led global commercial operations and was responsible for building and leading sales, marketing, market access and commercial operations. Prior to joining Exelixis, from April 2002 to October 2011Mr. Garland held positions of increasing responsibility at Genentech, Inc. (a subsidiary of Roche), most recently serving as Vice President of Genentech's Avastin franchise, where he led the U.S. sales and marketing efforts for the drug. Prior to that position, he served as Vice President, Hematology Marketing and Sales, overseeing the Rituxan franchise and as a Director on the Tarceva franchise. From July 1997 to April 2002Mr. Garland held several positions within the sales and marketing division of Amgen, Inc. and from July 1991 to July 1995 served as a professional sales representative at Merck & Co. Mr. Garland has an MBA from Duke University'sFuqua School of Business and a BA from California Polytechnic University (San Luis Obispo).

About Karyopharm Therapeutics

Karyopharm Therapeutics Inc. (Nasdaq:KPTI) is a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of novel drugs directed against nuclear transport targets for the treatment of cancer and other major diseases. Karyopharm's Selective Inhibitors of Nuclear Export / SINE™ compounds function by binding with and inhibiting the nuclear export protein XPO1 (or CRM1). The inhibition of XPO1 by Karyopharm's lead drug candidate, Selinexor (KPT-330), a first-in-class, oral SINE™ compound, leads to the accumulation of tumor suppressor proteins in the cell nucleus, which subsequently reinitiates and amplifies their tumor suppressor function. This is believed to lead to the selective induction of apoptosis in cancer cells, while largely sparing normal cells. To date, over 450 patients have been treated with Selinexor in Phase 1 and Phase 2 clinical trials in advanced hematologic malignancies and solid tumors. Karyopharm has initiated a registration-directed clinical trial of Selinexor in older patients with acute myeloid leukemia and two additional registration-directed clinical trials in hematological indications are expected to begin enrollment during 2014. Additional Phase 1 and Phase 2 studies are ongoing or currently planned, including multiple investigator-sponsored studies of Selinexor in combination with one or more approved therapies. The latest clinical trial information for Selinexor is available at www.clinicaltrials.gov. SINE™ compounds have also shown biological activity in models of autoimmune disease, certain viruses, and wound-healing. Karyopharm was founded by Dr. Sharon Shacham and is located in Newton, Massachusetts. For more information, please visit www.karyopharm.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements include those regarding the therapeutic potential of and potential clinical development plans for Karyopharm's drug candidates, including the timing of initiation of certain trials and of the reporting of data from such trials. Such statements are subject to numerous important factors, risks and uncertainties that may cause actual events or results to differ materially from the company's current expectations. For example, there can be no guarantee that any of Karyopharm's SINE™ compounds, including Selinexor (KPT-330), or any other drug candidate that Karyopharm is developing will successfully complete necessary preclinical and clinical development phases or that development of any of Karyopharm's drug candidates will continue. Further, there can be no guarantee that any positive developments in Karyopharm's drug candidate portfolio will result in stock price appreciation. Management's expectations and, therefore, any forward-looking statements in this press release could also be affected by risks and uncertainties relating to a number of other factors, including the following: Karyopharm's results of clinical trials and preclinical studies, including subsequent analysis of existing data and new data received from ongoing and future studies; the content and timing of decisions made by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and other regulatory authorities, investigational review boards at clinical trial sites and publication review bodies; Karyopharm's ability to obtain and maintain requisite regulatory approvals and to enroll patients in its clinical trials; unplanned cash requirements and expenditures; development of drug candidates by Karyopharm's competitors for diseases in which Karyopharm is currently developing its drug candidates; and Karyopharm's ability to obtain, maintain and enforce patent and other intellectual property protection for any drug candidates it is developing. These and other risks are described under the caption "Risk Factors" in Karyopharm's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013, which is on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and in other filings that Karyopharm may make with the SEC in the future. Any forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date hereof, and Karyopharm expressly disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

CONTACT: Investor Relations:

         Justin Renz

         (617) 658-0574

         jrenz@karyopharm.com



         Media & Communications:

         Ryan Flinn

         (415) 946-1059

         rflinn@w2ogroup.com

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Source:  Karyopharm Therapeutics

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