Zevra Therapeutics Appoints Global Medical Leader, Adrian Quartel, M.D., FFPM, as Chief Medical Officer
January 04 2024 - 8:55AM
Zevra Therapeutics, Inc. (NasdaqGS: ZVRA) (Zevra or the
Company), a rare disease therapeutics company, today announced the
appointment of Adrian Quartel, M.D., FFPM, as Chief Medical
Officer. Dr. Quartel brings more than 20 years of experience in the
international pharmaceutical industry with senior roles in clinical
development, pharmacovigilance and medical affairs.
"It is an honor to welcome Dr. Quartel to our
team during an exciting period of growth for Zevra after our recent
acquisition of Acer Therapeutics and the expansion of our rare
disease portfolio,” said Neil F. McFarlane, President and Chief
Executive Officer of Zevra. “His extensive expertise in overseeing
clinical development and leading the commercialization of multiple
rare disease assets will play a pivotal role in advancing Zevra's
vision to develop and commercialize therapies for rare and
ultra-rare diseases with significant unmet needs."
“I am grateful for the opportunity to join Zevra
and its exceptional team, prominent for their track record in drug
approvals and their fervent dedication to developing treatments for
patients with rare diseases,” said Dr. Quartel. “I look forward to
leveraging my experience to support the company’s mission of
developing treatments for patients with rare conditions that
deserve quality care. This includes supporting the strategic
commercialization of its recently acquired OLPRUVA® and its
recently filed NDA for arimoclomol, which both address rare,
chronic metabolic conditions and have the potential to help these
underserved communities.”
Dr. Quartel was previously the Chief Medical
Officer of Acer Therapeutics – Recently acquired by Zevra –, where
he played a key role in guiding clinical development, medical
affairs and regulatory compliance. Prior to that, he was the Chief
Medical Officer at Adamas Pharmaceuticals, a company focused on
drug development for neurological diseases. He previously served as
the former Group Vice President of Global Medical Affairs at
BioMarin Pharmaceuticals Inc., where he spearheaded the launch of
six treatments for rare diseases or genetic disorders, including
KUVAN®, VIMIZIM®, and Brineura®. Before his tenure at BioMarin, he
oversaw clinical development and held senior medical leadership
positions at Astellas, Chiltern, and ICON Clinical Research.
Earlier in his career, Dr. Quartel worked as a clinical research
fellow at UCLA Cedar Sinai and as a resident in cardio-thoracic
surgery at Erasmus University Medical Center. He holds an M.D. from
Erasmus University Medical School, Rotterdam, and has a
postgraduate specialization in pharmaceutical medicine from the
Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine in London. Dr. Quartel is board
certified by the General Medical Council (GMC) in pharmaceutical
medicine in the United Kingdom.
Inducement Awards:
Additionally, on January 3, 2024, the
Compensation Committee of Zevra’s Board of Directors granted (i) to
Dr. Quartel an inducement equity award consisting of an option
grant to purchase 300,000 shares of Zevra’s common stock, vesting
over four years, with 25% vesting on the first anniversary of Dr.
Quartel’s start date and the remainder vesting in three equal
annual installments thereafter, and (ii) to six individuals
inducement equity awards consisting of option grants to purchase an
aggregate of 100,000 shares of Zevra’s common stock, vesting over
four years, with 25% vesting on the first anniversary of each
respective individual’s start date and the remainder vesting in
three equal annual installments thereafter. The inducement awards
were granted under the Zevra Therapeutics, Inc. 2023 Employment
Inducement Award Plan (as amended and/or restated, the Inducement
Award Plan) and, in each case, an award agreement thereunder.
The stock option awards were granted as
inducement material to the individuals entering into employment
with Zevra in accordance with Nasdaq Rule 5635(c)(4). The
Inducement Award Plan is used exclusively for the grant of equity
awards to individuals who were not previously employees of Zevra,
or following a bona fide period of non-employment, as an inducement
material to such individuals’ entering into employment with
Zevra.
About Zevra
Therapeutics: Zevra Therapeutics is a rare disease
company melding science, data, and patient needs to create
transformational therapies for diseases with limited or no
treatment options. With unique, data-driven clinical, regulatory,
and commercialization strategies, the Company is overcoming complex
drug development challenges to bring much-needed therapies to
patients. With regulatory, clinical-stage and commercial assets,
the Company is building its capabilities to make new therapies
available to the rare disease community.
Expanded access programs are made available by
Zevra Therapeutics and its affiliates and are subject to the
Company's Expanded Access Program (EAP) policy as published on its
website at www.zevra.com. Participation in these programs is
subject to the laws and regulations of each jurisdiction under
which each respective program is operated. Eligibility for
participation in any such program is at the treating physician's
discretion.
Cautionary Note Concerning
Forward-Looking Statements: This press release may
contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking
statements include all statements that do not relate solely to
historical or current facts, and which can be identified by the use
of words such as "may," "will," "expect," "project," "estimate,"
"anticipate," "plan," "believe," "potential," "should," "continue,"
"could," "intend," "target," "predict," or the negative versions of
those words or other comparable words or expressions, although not
all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words or
expressions. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of
future actions or performance. These forward-looking statements
include without limitation statements regarding Zevra’s strategic
and product development objectives, including with respect to
becoming a leading, commercially-focused rare disease company, and
Dr. Quartel’s role in advancing such objectives, and Zevra’s
industry, plans, goals and expectations concerning market position,
future operations and other financial and operating information.
Forward-looking statements are based on information currently
available to Zevra and its current plans or expectations, and are
subject to several known and unknown uncertainties, risks, and
other important factors that may cause actual results, performance,
or achievements to be materially different from any future results,
performance, or achievements expressed or implied by the
forward-looking statements. These and other important factors are
described in detail in the “Risk Factors” section of Zevra’s Annual
Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022, as
updated in Zevra’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter
ended September 30, 2023, and Zevra’s other filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission. While Zevra may elect to update
such forward-looking statements at some point in the future, it
disclaims any obligation to do so, except as required by law, even
if subsequent events cause their respective views to change.
Although Zevra believes the expectations reflected in such
forward-looking statements are reasonable, it cannot assure that
such expectations will prove correct. These forward-looking
statements should not be relied upon as representing Zevra’s views
as of any date after the date of this press
release.
Zevra Contacts: Nichol Ochsner +1
(732) 754-2545 nochsner@zevra.com
Russo Partners Contacts: David
Schull +1 (858)
717-2310 david.schull@russopartnersllc.com Ignacio
Guerrero-Ros +1 (646)
942-5604 ignacio.guerrero-ros@russopartnersllc.com
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