Ascentage Pharma Appoints Jeff Kmetz as Chief Business Officer

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Feb 14, 2019, 18:00 ET

ROCKVILLE, Md., and HONG KONG, Feb. 14, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Ascentage Pharma, a global clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to developing apoptosis-targeted therapies for cancers and other diseases, today announced the appointment of Jeff Kmetz as Chief Business Officer. Mr. Kmetz has over 25 years of global pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry experience, most recently serving as Chief Business Officer of Pulse Biosciences and previously holding senior commercial roles at Pharmacyclics and Alexion.

"We are pleased to have an executive of Jeff's caliber join the Ascentage executive team," said Dr. Dajun Yang, Chairman & CEO of Ascentage Pharma. "Jeff brings an impressive track record of defining oncology-focused portfolio strategy and leading commercial and business development strategy. His contributions will be critical as we look to capitalize on the unique strengths of our pipeline of novel apoptosis-targeted compounds."

Added Mr. Kmetz: "I am excited by Ascentage's portfolio of apoptosis-targeted molecules. I realize as CBO, this role is a culmination of my past experiences, and will allow me to tap into the depth and breadth of my Hematology/Oncology expertise — particularly in commercial strategy, which contributed to the blockbuster success of BTK inhibitor ibrutinib."

As CBO, Mr. Kmetz will be responsible for leading the Company's business and commercial development. Throughout his career, Mr. Kmetz has held senior roles with increasing levels of responsibility in marketing, commercial and business development. Most recently, Mr. Kmetz served as Chief Business Officer at Pulse Biosciences, managing the Oncology development for the company's Nano-Pulse Stimulation technology. Prior to that, he was Head of Commercial and Business Development along with Strategic Marketing at Pharmacyclics, where he was instrumental in formulating and executing the commercialization and life cycle management of best-in-class BTK inhibitor ibrutinib — the asset which prompted the company's acquisition by AbbVie for $21 billion in 2015. Prior to that, Mr. Kmetz served as Director of U.S. Hematology Marketing at Alexion and led multiple initiatives in sales and marketing. Before Alexion, Mr. Kmetz was Hematology Business Unit Lead at Bayer, managing its hematology portfolio and brands. Mr. Kmetz holds a B.S. from Virginia Tech.

About Ascentage Pharma

Ascentage Pharma is a globally-focused, clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel small molecule therapies for cancers, hepatitis B and age-related diseases. Based on breakthrough technology from the University of Michigan, the Company's expertise is in designing therapeutics that inhibit protein-protein interactions to restore apoptosis, or programmed cell death, in cancers. Ascentage has built a rich pipeline of eight clinical candidates, including a novel, highly potent Bcl-2/Bcl-xL inhibitor, APG-1252, as well as candidates aimed at IAP and MDM2-p53 pathways, and next-generation tyrosine kinase inhibitors. For more information, please visit www.ascentagepharma.com.

Media Contacts:

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Amy Bonanno
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Hill+Knowlton Strategies (Hong Kong)
Joanne Lam / Morning Zhu
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Email: [email protected] / [email protected]

SOURCE Ascentage Pharma