Karyopharm Announces Key Changes to Its Commercial Leadership Team

09 June 2021 | Wednesday | News


Sohanya Cheng, Formerly of Amgen and Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals, Appointed as Head of Sales and Commercial Operations - − Payman Darouian, Formerly of Novartis, Bristol Myers Squibb, and Sanofi, to Lead Marketing for XPOVIO® -

Karyopharm Therapeutics Inc. (Nasdaq:KPTI), a commercial-stage pharmaceutical company pioneering novel cancer therapies, today announced key management changes to its commercial organization, including the appointment of Sohanya Cheng, MBA, as Senior Vice President of Sales and Commercial Operations. Payman Darouian, PharmD, Senior Vice President of Marketing will lead all marketing activities for Karyopharm's lead product, XPOVIO® (selinexor). In addition, John Demaree, Chief Commercial Officer, and Perry Monaco, Senior Vice President of Sales, will be leaving Karyopharm to pursue other opportunities.

"We are excited to welcome Sohanya to Karyopharm and to broaden Payman's role within the organization as we continue to execute on the commercialization of XPOVIO® and expand its position in the treatment paradigm for multiple myeloma, diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, and potentially additional tumor types, if approved, in the future," said Richard Paulson, MBA, President and Chief Executive Officer of Karyopharm. "I'd also like to take this opportunity to thank both John and Perry for their tremendous contributions to the initial commercial success of XPOVIO and sincerely wish them both success in their future endeavors."

The Company does not currently plan to fill the position of Chief Commercial Officer and both Ms. Cheng and Dr. Darouian will report directly to Richard Paulson, President and Chief Executive Officer.

Ms. Cheng brings 17 years of biopharmaceutical commercialization and research experience to Karyopharm, predominately in the oncology space. Prior to joining Karyopharm, Ms. Cheng served as Vice President, Head of Marketing and Corporate Affairs at Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals and prior to this role, spent over 10 years within the commercial organization at Amgen. While at Amgen, Ms. Cheng held a variety of sales and marketing leadership roles supporting the commercialization of key oncology brands, including Kyprolis® for multiple myeloma and Blincyto® for acute lymphoblastic lymphoma, and served as Amgen's Executive Director, Head of Marketing & Sales for their multiple myeloma business. Ms. Cheng holds an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management and a BSc and MA from the University of Cambridge, UK.

Dr. Darouian joined Karyopharm in January 2021 and is responsible for all marketing efforts for XPOVIO. Prior to joining Karyopharm, he spent more than 17 years in a variety of commercial leadership roles, predominately in the oncology space, including  at Novartis where Dr. Darouian served as the Executive Director and Global Brand Lead for Targeted Lung Cancer Therapies and also led commercial strategy for their Solid Tumor and Immuno-Oncology business. Prior to Novartis, Dr. Darouian helped lead worldwide commercialization of Opdivo® for the treatment of head and neck cancer at Bristol Myers Squibb. Finally, while at Sanofi, Dr. Darouian held numerous marketing leadership roles over an eight year period supporting key oncology brands, including Jevtana® and Eloxatin®. Dr. Darouian holds a PharmD from the Albany College of Pharmacy and a BS from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst

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