X4 Pharmaceuticals Expands Commercial Leadership Expertise with Appointment of Françoise de Craecker to Board of Directors and Karolyn Park as Vice President, U.S. Commercial

Rhea-AI Summary

X4 Pharmaceuticals has appointed Françoise de Craecker to its Board of Directors and hired Karolyn Park as Vice President, U.S. Commercial. These strategic moves aim to enhance the company's leadership as it prepares for the anticipated U.S. launch of its lead candidate, mavorixafor. De Craecker brings over 30 years of experience in launching rare disease products globally, while Park has nearly 20 years in life science marketing. The hiring is viewed as a critical step in maximizing mavorixafor's potential to treat immunodeficiencies and cancers.

Positive

• Appointment of Françoise de Craecker to the Board of Directors, enhancing strategic leadership.
• Karolyn Park joins as Vice President, U.S. Commercial, bringing nearly 20 years of experience.
• Both leaders are expected to strengthen market readiness for mavorixafor's anticipated launch.

Negative

• None.

Each brings significant experience in strategic marketing of rare disease therapeutics and commercial operations

BOSTON, Oct. 19, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- X4 Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: XFOR), a leader in the discovery and development of novel CXCR4-targeted small molecule therapeutics to benefit patients with diseases of the immune system, announced today the appointment of Françoise de Craecker to the company’s Board of Directors and the recent hiring of Karolyn Park to the newly created role of Vice President, U.S. Commercial, significantly strengthening the company’s depth and breadth of commercial leadership experience. Ms. de Craecker’s appointment expands the X4 Board of Directors to nine members.

“With the first pivotal trial of our lead candidate mavorixafor now fully enrolled, we believe that it is the right time to be expanding our commercial expertise,” said Paula Ragan, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of X4. “Françoise brings more than 30 years of experience successfully launching and commercializing innovative products and building rare disease businesses in regions throughout the world including the Europe, the Middle East, Latin America, and the U.S. We believe that her strategic commercial lens and patient-focused commitment will add meaningfully to the X4 Board of Directors as we lead X4 into the next phase of growth. Additionally, we expect Karolyn’s deep experiences in strategic marketing and global product launch and commercialization will enable X4 to successfully prepare for the anticipated launch of mavorixafor in the U.S. We look forward to both Françoise and Karolyn playing key roles in maximizing mavorixafor’s full potential for the benefit of patients in need as we continue to explore the broad range of opportunities for mavorixafor to treat immunodeficiencies and certain cancers.”

Ms. de Craecker joins the X4 Board of Directors following a distinguished career building multi-functional teams, formulating global commercial strategies for orphan drug and gene therapy products, and successfully launching multiple products across the globe. She also currently serves as an Independent Director of the French biopharmaceutical company GenSight. Previously, she served as General Manager Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) at AveXis Europe (now a Novartis company). Prior to that, Ms. de Craecker served as Senior Vice President and General Manager EMEA at Raptor Pharmaceuticals Europe. For nearly 15 years, Ms. de Craecker served in roles of increasing responsibility at Shire within their Rare Disease Business Unit, ending her tenure there as Vice President and General Manager Europe. Ms. de Craecker obtained a master’s degree in Nutrition from the Faculty of Medicine, University of Leuven, Belgium.

Ms. Park joined X4 in September 2021 as Vice President, U.S. Commercial, bringing nearly 20 years of experience in life science marketing and commercial planning, development, and execution. Previous to X4, she served in multiple roles at Takeda Pharmaceuticals, including Senior Director, U.S. Hematology Portfolio Strategy and Director, U.S. Trintellix Strategy & HCP Marketing Lead. Prior to that, Ms. Park served as Director, U.S. Fabry Marketing at Sanofi Genzyme, adding to strong relationships with KOLs, patient advocacy groups, and key customers, while growing sales more than 10% with a matured product. Earlier in her career, Ms. Park served as Associate Director, Global Aducanumab Commercial at Biogen, as Senior Manager, HCP INCIVEK Marketing at Vertex Pharmaceuticals, and provided market research consulting services to large global life science companies while at Michael Allen Company. Ms. Park received a B.A. in Economics and an Executive MBA from Yale University.

About X4 Pharmaceuticals
X4 Pharmaceuticals is a late-stage clinical biopharmaceutical company and a leader in the discovery and development of novel therapies for the treatment of diseases of the immune system via antagonism of the CXCR4 pathway, with a focus on rare diseases and those with limited treatment options. The company’s lead candidate, mavorixafor, is a first-in-class, small molecule antagonist of chemokine receptor CXCR4 being developed as a once-daily oral therapy. X4 believes that inhibition of the CXCR4 receptor creates the potential for mavorixafor to provide therapeutic benefit across a wide variety of diseases, including primary immunodeficiencies and certain types of cancer. The efficacy and safety of mavorixafor, dosed once daily, is currently being evaluated in a number of clinical trials, including a global Phase 3 clinical trial in patients with WHIM syndrome, and in two Phase 1b clinical trials – in combination with ibrutinib in patients with Waldenström’s macroglobulinemia, and as monotherapy in patients with Severe Congenital Neutropenia (SCN) and other chronic neutropenia disorders. X4 is continuing to leverage its insights into CXCR4 biology at its corporate headquarters in Boston, Massachusetts and at its research facility in Vienna, Austria, to discover and develop additional product candidates. For more information, please visit www.x4pharma.com.

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended. These statements may be identified by the words “may,” “will,” “could,” “would,” “should,” “expect,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “project,” “potential,” “continue,” “target,” or other similar terms or expressions that concern X4's expectations, strategy, plans, or intentions. Forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements regarding the clinical development and therapeutic potential of mavorixafor; X4’s potential growth and evolution; the advancement of X4’s pipeline; and the potential commercialization of mavorixafor and any other of X4’s product candidates, if approved. Any forward-looking statements in this press release are based on management's current expectations and beliefs. Actual events or results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by any forward-looking statements contained herein, including, without limitation, uncertainties inherent in the initiation and completion of preclinical studies and clinical trials and clinical development; the risk that trials and studies may be delayed, including, but not limited to, as a result of the effects of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic or delayed patient enrollment, and may not have satisfactory outcomes; the risk that the outcomes of earlier clinical trials will not be predictive of later clinical trial results; the potential adverse effects arising from the testing or use of mavorixafor or other product candidates; risks related to X4’s ability to raise additional capital and other risks and uncertainties, including those described in the section entitled “Risk Factors” in X4’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on August 3, 2021, and in other filings X4 makes with the SEC from time to time. X4 undertakes no obligation to update the information contained in this press release to reflect new events or circumstances, except as required by law.

Investors and Media: 
Daniel Ferry
Managing Director
LifeSci Advisors
daniel@lifesciadvisors.com
(617) 430-7576

Mónica Rouco Molina
Senior Account Executive
LifeSci Communications
mroucomolina@lifescicomms.com

FAQ

Who has been appointed to the X4 Pharmaceuticals Board of Directors?

Françoise de Craecker has been appointed to the X4 Pharmaceuticals Board of Directors.

What role has Karolyn Park taken at X4 Pharmaceuticals?

Karolyn Park has been hired as Vice President, U.S. Commercial at X4 Pharmaceuticals.

What is the significance of mavorixafor for X4 Pharmaceuticals?

Mavorixafor is X4 Pharmaceuticals' lead candidate aimed at treating immunodeficiencies and certain cancers.

What experience does Françoise de Craecker bring to X4 Pharmaceuticals?

Françoise de Craecker brings over 30 years of experience in commercializing rare disease products worldwide.

What previous positions did Karolyn Park hold before joining X4 Pharmaceuticals?

Karolyn Park served in multiple roles at Takeda Pharmaceuticals and Sanofi Genzyme prior to joining X4 Pharmaceuticals.