Michael Kauffman Biography and Net Worth

Dr. Kauffman co-founded Karyopharm with Dr. Sharon Shacham in 2008 and served as our Chief Executive Officer from January 2011 to April 2021, as Chief Medical Officer from December 2012 to July 2019, and as a director since 2008.  He is currently a Senior Clinical Advisor to the Company helping to guide additional clinical development for Karyopharm’s robust pipeline of programs, with an increasing focus on solid tumor indications.

Prior to joining Karyopharm, Dr. Kauffman served as Chief Medical Officer at Onyx Pharmaceuticals Inc., which acquired Proteolix Inc. in November 2009 where he was Chief Medical Officer and where he led the development of Kyprolis® (carfilzomib), a novel proteasome inhibitor which was approved by the FDA for the treatment of refractory myeloma in 2012.

Prior to joining Onyx, Dr. Kauffman was an operating partner at Bessemer Venture Partners where he led investments in biotechnology companies. Prior to that, he served as President and Chief Executive Officer at Epix Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and President and Chief Executive Officer of Predix Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Dr. Kauffman led the merger of Predix Pharmaceuticals and Epix Pharmaceuticals in 2006, oversaw the discovery and development of four new clinical candidates, and led collaboration transactions with Amgen and GlaxoSmithKline.

From 2000 to 2002, Dr. Kauffman was Vice President, Clinical at Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc., where he led the Velcade® (bortezomib) development program. From 1997 to 2000, Dr. Kauffman served in senior leadership roles at Millennium Predictive Medicine, Inc., a subsidiary of Millennium Pharmaceuticals, where he led the discovery and development of novel molecular diagnostics for major cancers and led transactions with Becton-Dickenson and Bristol Myers Squibb. From 1995 to 1997, he held a number of senior positions at Biogen Idec, Inc., where he led the clinical development of anti-D40L antibodies in autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, and acted as the main medical advisor to the Biogen business development group. Dr. Kauffman currently serves on the board of directors of Adicet Bio, Kezar Life Sciences, Inc. and  Verastem Inc., which are all public biopharmaceutical companies.

Dr. Kauffman received his Bachelor of Arts in Biochemistry from Amherst College, his Doctor of Medicine and Doctor of Philosophy from Johns Hopkins Medical School, and trained in internal medicine and rheumatology at Beth Israel (now Beth Israel Deaconness Medical Center) and Massachusetts General Hospitals. He is board certified in internal medicine.