Karyopharm appoints president and CEO

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Karyopharm appoints president and CEO 

Karyopharm Therapeutics Inc. has tapped Richard Paulson to be Karyopharm’s president and CEO, effective May 3, 2021. Paulson, who remains a member of the board of directors, succeeds Michael G. Kauffman, M.D., Ph.D., as CEO and Sharon Shacham, Ph.D., MBA, as president. 

Dr. Kauffman continues in his role as a member of the board of directors and assumed a new role with the company as senior clinical advisor. Dr. Shacham continues in her roles as chief scientific officer overseeing research, development and regulatory affairs and as chair of the company’s scientific advisory board. 

Paulson, who most recently served as executive VP of Ipsen Pharmaceuticals Inc. and CEO of Ipsen North America, has been a member of Karyopharm’s board of directors since February 2020 and brings over 25 years of global biopharmaceutical industry experience, including various international leadership roles transforming organizations and developing highly successful teams across three continents, where he has launched best-in-class products across multiple therapeutic areas including oncology medicines.

Richard Paulson

“I am honored to serve as Karyopharm’s next president and CEO and can’t thank Drs. Kauffman and Shacham enough for their vision, leadership, and immense contributions to the scientific and initial commercial success achieved by Karyopharm,” Paulson says. “Under Michael and Sharon’s leadership, the company’s lead medicine, Xpovio, has received three separate FDA approvals in the past two years, along with an approval in the European Union, and the resulting impact on improving the lives of patients with cancer has been remarkable.

“As Karyopharm is now at a pivotal point in its commercialization efforts, I am excited to lead the company in its next chapter of growth and innovation as we seek to expand Xpovio’s impact across indications and geographies. Importantly, Karyopharm’s culture is rooted in a commitment to patients, which is in complete alignment with my personal value system. I look forward to leveraging my experience in global product commercialization and executive leadership to further advance Karyopharm’s impact on patients and their caregivers with the goal of continuing to build our myeloma franchise and expand into additional hematologic and solid tumor indications.”

Dr. Kauffman is helping guide additional clinical development for Karyopharm’s robust pipeline of programs, with an increasing focus on solid tumor indications.

“It has been the privilege of a lifetime to help found and lead Karyopharm, along with Dr. Sharon Shacham, over the past 12 years,” Dr. Kauffman says. “With three FDA approvals as well as our first marketing authorization in Europe, I believe now more than ever that flawless commercial execution will be imperative for Karyopharm to achieve its long-term goals. Having worked closely with Richard over the past year, I am confident that he is extremely well positioned to lead Karyopharm as we continue the important work ahead for the company. Richard has a tremendous track record of success in leading commercial companies and I look forward to working with him as our company’s next CEO.” 

Paulson has served as a member of Karyopharm’s board of directors since February 2020. Before he was at Ipsen, he worked at Amgen for 10 years holding varying leadership positions across Europe and North America, including VP and general manager of Amgen’s U.S. Oncology Business Unit, and prior to that served as the VP of marketing for Amgen’s U.S. Oncology Business, general manager of Amgen Germany, and general manager of Amgen Central & Eastern Europe. 

Prior to Amgen, Paulson held a number of global leadership positions at Pfizer Inc., including serving as general manager of Pfizer South Africa and Pfizer Czech Republic. Paulson also previously held a variety of sales, marketing, and market access roles with increasing seniority at GlaxoWellcome in Canada. Paulson has an MBA from the University of Toronto, Canada, and an undergraduate degree in commerce from the University of Saskatchewan, Canada. 

“Mr. Paulson is a passionate, highly accomplished biopharmaceutical leader whose understanding of the commercial oncology space will be critical to Karyopharm as we seek to expand our commercial reach,” says Barry Greene, Karyopharm’s lead independent director and chair of the Nominating, Corporate Governance & Compliance Committee. “Having worked directly with Richard as a fellow board member, we are thrilled to have him take on an even greater role as Karyopharm’s next chief executive officer and on behalf of the entire board, I would like thank both Michael and Sharon for their tremendous leadership and dedication to Karyopharm’s past and future success.”

A commercial-stage pharma company, Karyopharm is pioneering novel cancer therapies and is dedicated to the discovery, development and commercialization of first-in-class drugs directed against nuclear export for the treatment of cancer and other diseases.