Elevar Therapeutics Announces CEO Transition and New Board Appointment

Elevar Therapeutics, Inc. ("Elevar"), a fully integrated biopharmaceutical company built on the promise of elevating treatment experiences and outcomes for patients who have limited or inadequate therapeutic options, today announced that the Board of Directors has appointed Kate McKinley, who has served as the Company's Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) since 2019, to Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Elevar, effective immediately. As part of this leadership change, Alex Kim, who previously served as CEO, has transitioned to the position of Chairman of Elevar's Board of Directors.

"I am honored to serve as CEO and to lead Elevar at such an important time in the Company's history," said Kate McKinley, Chief Executive Officer of Elevar Therapeutics. "I look forward to working closely with the Board, executive leadership team and our very talented employees to transform Elevar into a commercial-stage organization by delivering upon our strategic plans to bring promising medicines - rivoceranib (apatinib) and Apealea® (paclitaxel micellar) - to market for patients who currently have limited or inadequate therapeutic options."

McKinley added, "We would like to thank Alex for his leadership, and I look forward to continued collaboration in his new role as Chairman. In addition, Elevar plans to appoint a new CCO and we will communicate further details on this appointment shortly."

Kate McKinley joined Elevar in 2019 and serves on the Company's Executive Team. Before being appointed to CEO in July 2021, Ms. McKinley served as CCO, and led Elevar's global commercial, medical affairs, business development, manufacturing, supply chain, alliance management, and corporate communications organizations. Ms. McKinley has more than 20 years of experience in developing high-performing cultures and organizations in the biopharmaceutical industry. Prior to joining Elevar, she was the Head of Marketing, Training, and the Hospital Channel at Dendreon, responsible for the first FDA approved cell-based cancer immunotherapy. Prior to Dendreon, Ms. McKinley was U.S. Head of Sales at AbbVie, leading the Oncology, Urology and Gynecology sales and field reimbursement organizations overseeing new product launch planning, rebranding initiatives, and market expansion strategies. Ms. McKinley has a superior record of achievement in creating and leading the vision and strategic partnerships that position organizations for transformation and commercial success within startup, rapid-growth, turnaround, and Fortune 100 environments. Ms. McKinley is a summa cum laude graduate of The University of Tulsa. She holds an M.B.A. from the university's Collins College of Business and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with degrees in Marketing, Management and Psychology.

"Kate's appointment to CEO is a natural progression that reflects her proven, dynamic and visionary leadership within the biopharmaceutical industry and during her tenure at Elevar. Kate has been instrumental to the development of the organization and on behalf of the Board, we would like to congratulate her on this well-deserved appointment. We have the greatest of confidence in Kate and the executive team's collective ability to successfully lead Elevar through its next phase of growth," said Alex Kim, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Elevar Therapeutics.

Alex Kim joined Elevar Therapeutics in May of 2007 and later that year he was elected to the Board of Directors and became CEO in 2019. Mr. Kim was appointed to Chairman of the Board of Elevar in July 2021. Mr. Kim has 30 years' experience in the pharmaceutical industry at MacroMed, Inc. (formerly Protherics, Plc, now BTG, Plc); Expression Genetics, Inc.; VivoRx, Inc. (Abraxis, acquired by Celgene); and Theratech (now Watson Pharmaceuticals). Mr. Kim has closed financing deals in Europe, Asia, and the U.S. He received his master's degree in international business from Sophia University (Sang Ji) in Tokyo, Japan, and bachelor's degree in Political Science with a minor in Economics from the University of Utah. Mr. Kim is a member of the Board of Directors of Co-D Therapeutics and Immunomic Therapeutics.

Elevar is a wholly-owned subsidiary of HLB Co., Ltd., a publicly traded company on Korea's KOSDAQ exchange. Mr. Yang Gon (YG) Jin, Chairman of the HLB Group, and Mr. Dong-Gun (DG) Kim, both members of Elevar's Board of Directors, serve as Co-CEOs of HLB.

About Elevar Therapeutics

Elevar Therapeutics is a rapidly growing, fully integrated biopharmaceutical company built on the promise of elevating treatment experiences and outcomes for patients who have limited or inadequate therapeutic options. Elevar's lead proprietary drug candidates include rivoceranib (apatinib) and Apealea® (paclitaxel micellar). Rivoceranib is the first small-molecule tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) to be approved in gastric cancer (China, Dec 2014). It has been granted Orphan Drug designation in the U.S., Europe and South Korea and has been clinically tested in over 1,000 patients worldwide in numerous cancer indications. Apealea® (paclitaxel micellar) is a non-Cremophor EL based formulation of paclitaxel that received marketing authorization by the European Commission in November 2018, making it Europe's first non-Cremophor EL formulation of paclitaxel approved for use in ovarian cancer. 

About HLB Co.

Founded in 1975 and based in Seoul, Korea, HLB Co., is building a global management network to create an optimal environment for the development and sale of new drugs. HLB is growing into a global anti-cancer company based on various anti-cancer drugs obtained through a global network. By 2025, HLB aims to market more than five anti-cancer drugs, including the development of Rivoceranib, in collaboration with Elevar Therapeutics, the first small-molecule tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) to be approved in gastric cancer (China, Dec 2014). HLB is the holding company for multiple biotechnology companies focusing on cancer research and treatment including Elevar Therapeutics. HLB is publicly traded on the KOSDAQ.