Zevra Therapeutics Appoints Thomas Anderson to Board of Directors and Announces Retirement of Matthew R. Plooster

CELEBRATION, Fla., Aug. 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Zevra Therapeutics (NasdaqGS: ZVRA) ("Zevra" or “the Company"), a rare disease company melding science, data, and patient need to create transformational therapies for diseases with limited or no treatment options, proudly welcomes Tom Anderson, a highly accomplished biopharma veteran, to its Board of Directors (the "Board"). Concurrently, the Company announces the retirement of board member Matthew R. Plooster, whose valuable leadership has played a crucial role in shaping Zevra's growth. Both the announcement of the new director and Mr. Plooster's retirement are in accordance with the plan announced by the Company on May 8, 2023.

With over 35 years of experience as a leader in the biopharma and consumer product goods (CPG) industries, Tom Anderson brings significant expertise in high-growth organizations, operational and strategic roles in rare diseases, strategic acquisitions, and scaling businesses. As the CEO and Director of SwanBio Therapeutics and, formerly, a key member of Sage Therapeutics' leadership team, Tom has a proven track record of managing aggressive growth and driving shareholder value.

"Tom's appointment to the Zevra Board comes at a pivotal time for our company. His exceptional skill set and strategic insights will be instrumental as we continue to develop and bring much-needed therapies to the rare disease community," stated Tamara A. (Seymour) Favorito, Board Chair. "Tom's wealth of experience in managing complex drug development challenges including strategic roles in rare disease and talent development aligns perfectly with our vision."

"I am delighted to join the Zevra Board at such a pivotal time in the Company's development. Collaborating with Zevra's Board and management team, I look forward to leveraging my operational and rare disease experience to help guide Zevra towards its mission, ensuring our collective efforts to expedite development and accessibility of life changing therapies directly benefit the rare disease community," Anderson added.

Simultaneously, Zevra extends its sincere gratitude and best wishes to Matthew R. Plooster for his countless contributions and dedication during his tenure on the Board. Mr. Plooster, who has been a director of Zevra since March 2011 and Chairman of the Board from January 2023 to May 2023, played a significant role in shaping the Company's growth, advancing its mission and bringing valuable expertise and guidance to Zevra's strategic initiatives.

About Tom Anderson:

Tom Anderson is a 35-year veteran of the biopharma industry and has led and been a part of high-growth organizations for much of his career. He currently serves as CEO and Director at SwanBio Therapeutics. Previously, he was recruited to Sage Therapeutics, Inc. in 2014 to be the company's Chief Commercial Strategy Officer and a key member of Sage's leadership team.

Between 2004 and 2014, Mr. Anderson was a senior operating (P&L) executive with Shire Pharmaceuticals Group in a number of operational and strategic roles in both rare diseases and specialty pharmaceuticals. During that time, Shire achieved a 5-fold increase in revenues and market cap valuation. Prior to that, he was with J&J (Janssen and McNeil Pharmaceutical) in several leadership, sales, marketing, and business information roles which experienced transformational growth. Between 1997 and 2002, Mr. Anderson served in C-suite and Board roles with market-leading consumer product companies as part of the Claneil Enterprises, Inc. family of companies. He is also an investor partner at Robin Hood Ventures in Philadelphia, PA.

Mr. Anderson earned his MBA from the University of Notre Dame's Mendoza College of Business Administration. He received his BS in civil engineering from the P.C. Rossin College of Engineering at Lehigh University.

About Zevra:

Zevra Therapeutics is a rare disease company melding science, data, and patient need 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 both regulatory and clinical stage product candidates, the Company is building its commercial capability to make new therapies available to the rare disease community.

Caution 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, including without limitation statements regarding Zevra's mission and its efforts to expedite development and accessibility of therapies that benefit the rare disease community. Forward-looking statements are based on information currently available to Zevra and its current plans or expectations. They are subject to several known and unknown uncertainties, risks, and other important factors that may cause our 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 March 31, 2023, and Zevra's other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. While we may elect to update such forward-looking statements at some point in the future, except as required by law, we disclaim any obligation to do so, even if subsequent events cause our views to change. Although we believe the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot assure that such expectations will prove correct. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing our views as of any date after the date of this press release. 

Contacts:

For investor relations:

Nichol Ochsner

+1 (732) 754-2545

For media inquiries:

Jennifer Arcure

+1 (917) 603-0681