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NEWTON, Mass., Sept. 04, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- 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 (SINE) 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. Additional clinical trial information for selinexor is available at www.clinicaltrials.gov.

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, 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 submissions to regulatory authorities, including the anticipated timing of such submissions, and the potential availability of accelerated approval pathways, the therapeutic potential of and potential clinical development plans for Karyopharm's drug candidates, especially selinexor, and the plans for commercialization. Such statements are subject to numerous important factors, risks and uncertainties that may cause actual events or results to differ materially from Karyopharm's current expectations. For example, there can be no guarantee that regulators will agree that selinexor qualifies for accelerated approval in the U.S. or conditional approval in the E.U. as a result of the data from the STORM study in patients with penta-refractory myeloma or that any of Karyopharm's drug candidates, including selinexor, will successfully complete necessary 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, including with respect to the need for additional clinical studies; 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 Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2018, which was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on August 7, 2018, 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, except as required by law, Karyopharm expressly disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Velcade® is a registered trademark of Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited
Revlimid® and Pomalyst® are registered trademarks of Celgene Corporation
Kyprolis® is a registered trademark of Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Darzalex® is a registered trademark of Janssen Biotech, Inc.

Contacts:

Investors:
Karyopharm Therapeutics Inc.
Ian Karp
Vice President, Investor and Public Relations
857-297-2241 | ikarp@karyopharm.com 

Media:
Argot Partners
David Rosen
212-600-1902 | david.rosen@argotpartners.com 

Source: Karyopharm Therapeutics Inc.