KemPharm, a rare disease therapeutics company focused on developing treatments for central nervous system disorders and neurodegenerative diseases, promoted Sven Guenther, PhD and Christal M.M. Mickle, M.A. on Wednesday morning.
Guenther will now serve as chief scientific officer, while Mickle, a company co-founder, will serve as chief product development officer. Guenther most recently served as EVP of research and development, while Mickle served as SVP of operations and productive development.
Prior to joining KemPharm, Guenther was a research scientist at New River Pharmaceuticals, contributing to the development of Vynase. Mickle has more than 20 years of industry experience, also starting her career at New River before co-founding KemPharm in 2006. Both are listed as inventors on multiple patents, according to a press release.
KemPharm said that the expanded roles for Guenther and Mickle “support broader evolution” into a leading rare disease company.
“Christal and Sven have been integral to KemPharm’s growth and success, and we look forward to benefiting from their expertise as we continue our strategic transformation into a leading rare disease company,” KemPharm CEO Richard W. Pascoe said in a statement. “Key to maximizing our value will be the New Drug Application (NDA) resubmission for arimoclomol to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the ongoing development of our product portfolio, led by KP1077, and the advancement of our research and development efforts. Christal and Sven will continue to be instrumental to these endeavors, as well as continuing to provide important perspectives as KemPharm embarks on a new chapter in its corporate evolution.”
The promotions of Guenther and Mickle are the latest personnel moves for KemPharm.
On Monday, the company named Pascoe as CEO, Matthew R. Plooster as chairman of the board of directors and Travis C. Mickle, PhD as president, while adding Joshua Schafer as chief commercial officer and EVP of business development.
In August, KemPharm appointed Nichol Ochsner to the newly created position of VP of investor relations and corporate communications. Prior to joining the company, Ochsner was the EVP of investor relations and corporate communications at Statera Biopharma, with previous stints in IR roles at TherapeuticsMD and Aralez Pharmaceuticals.
