Zevra Therapeutics Expands Executive Leadership Team

Rahsaan W. Thompson appointed as Chief Legal Officer, Secretary and Compliance Officer

Alison Peters appointed as Chief People Officer

CELEBRATION, Fla., June 25, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Zevra Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZVRA) (Zevra or the Company), a rare disease therapeutics company, today announced the appointments of Rahsaan W. Thompson as Chief Legal Officer, Secretary and Compliance Officer, and Alison Peters as Chief People Officer. Both Mr. Thompson and Ms. Peters bring deep expertise in building high-performing teams which will be essential to deliver success through the Company's next phase of growth.

"We are thrilled to welcome both Rahsaan and Alison to the Zevra team as we continue the expansion and progress of our rare disease portfolio," said Neil F. McFarlane, President and Chief Executive Officer of Zevra. "Their roles will be instrumental to driving our evolution into a leading rare disease therapeutics company."

Mr. Thompson's extensive experience handling domestic and international agreements and transactions, alongside his skills in litigation, government affairs, SEC compliance, and commercial management, make him well-poised to serve as Chief Legal Officer for Zevra. Ms. Peters brings a wealth of experience in executive coaching, culture design, and HR operations, making her an invaluable addition to our leadership team with a track record of high performance through progressive people strategies. Combined, their expertise in talent management and legal affairs will be instrumental as we continue to grow our commercial capabilities and advance the development of our rare disease assets.

"I am thrilled to join Zevra on their mission to provide novel therapeutics for unmet rare disease needs," expressed Rahsaan Thompson. "I look forward to leveraging my diverse experience to support Zevra's continued success."

Mr. Thompson brings more than 25 years of experience as a business leader and attorney in the biotech industry. Mr. Thompson, previously the Chief Legal Officer at Lyell Immunopharma, a publicly traded and clinical-stage biotech corporation, has extensive experience handling corporate governance, clinical studies, intellectual property, licensing arrangements, and litigation, among other responsibilities. His knowledge of financing plans and partnerships as well as regulatory and compliance matters have led to his success throughout his career. Prior to his role at Lyell, he was the Executive Vice President, General Counsel, Corporate Secretary, and Chief Compliance Officer at Gritstone bio, a publicly traded, clinical-stage biotech company. He previously served as General Counsel at Opiant Pharmaceuticals and Actelion Pharmaceuticals. Earlier in his career, Mr. Thompson worked in General and Corporate Counsel roles at Quarles & Brady, Abraxis Bioscience, McKesson Corporation and Assistant District Attorney in the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office. Mr. Thompson serves on the Board of Trustees for the Oakland Museum of California and formerly the American Kidney Fund. He received his J.D. from Hofstra University School of Law and his B.Sc. from Southern Methodist University. He has Bar Admissions in the States of Illinois, California, and Pennsylvania.

"I am pleased with the opportunity to join the Zevra team during this exciting time of growth for the company," said Alison Peters. "As Zevra expands its footprint, I plan to leverage my expertise in talent acquisition and retention, as well as executive advisement and employee engagement, to promote a positive and effective company culture."

Ms. Peters brings more than 20 years of experience in human capital management at biopharmaceutical and medtech companies. Ms. Peters was previously the Chief People Officer and Head of Corporate Communications at Scipher Medicine, a mid-sized precision medicine company, where she played a key role in shaping a culture of high performance through various talent management initiatives. Prior to that, she was the Human Capital Practice Lead at Dominis Group, a human capital and finance consulting firm, where she provided executive coaching on culture, performance, and change management. She previously served as Senior Director of Talent Management at Serica Technologies and VP of Human Resources at Quantia MD, leading HR services and ensuring talent acquisition and retention at each company. Earlier in her career, Ms. Peters worked in Talent Acquisitions and HR for PCI Corporation, Etex Corporation, Akamai Technologies, GTE Internetworking, and Fidelity Investments.

Inducement Awards

On June 21, 2024, the Compensation Committee of Zevra's Board of Directors granted (i) to Mr. Thompson an inducement equity award consisting of a grant of 200,000 restricted stock units of Zevra's common stock, vesting over three years, with 33 1/3% vesting on the first anniversary of Mr. Thompson's start date, and the remainder vesting in two equal annual installments thereafter; (ii) to Ms. Peters an inducement equity award consisting of a grant of 150,000 restricted stock units of Zevra's common stock, vesting over three years, with 33 1/3% vesting on the first anniversary of Ms. Peters' start date, and the remainder vesting in two equal annual installments thereafter; and (iii) to three (3) individuals inducement equity awards consisting of restricted stock units to purchase an aggregate of 9,700 shares of Zevra's common stock, vesting over three years, with 33 1/3% vesting on the first anniversary of each person's respective start date, and the remainder vesting in two equal annual installments thereafter. The inducement awards were granted under the Zevra Therapeutics, Inc. 2023 Employment Inducement Award Plan (as amended and/or restated, the Inducement Award Plan) and, in each case, an award agreement thereunder.

The stock option awards were granted as inducement material to the individuals entering into employment with Zevra in accordance with Nasdaq Rule 5635(c)(4). The Inducement Award Plan is used exclusively for the grant of equity awards to individuals who were not previously employees of Zevra, or following a bona fide period of non-employment, as an inducement material to such individuals' entering into employment with Zevra.

About Zevra Therapeutics

Zevra Therapeutics is a rare disease company combining science, data, and patient needs to create transformational therapies for diseases with limited or no treatment options. Our mission is to bring life-changing therapeutics to people living with rare diseases. With unique, data-driven development and commercialization strategies, the Company is overcoming complex drug development challenges to make new therapies available to the rare disease community.

For more information, please visit www.zevra.com or follow us on X (formerly Twitter) and LinkedIn.

Cautionary Note 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 the promise and potential impact of our preclinical or clinical trial data, the initiation, timing, design, or results of any clinical trials or readouts, the potential benefits of any of our products or product candidates for any specific disease indication or at any dosage. 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, 2023, Zevra's quarterly report for the three months ended March 31, 2024, 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.

Zevra Contacts: 

Nichol Ochsner 

+1 (732) 754-2545 

[email protected] 

Russo Partners Contacts

Adanna G. Alexander, Ph.D.

+1 (646) 942-5603

[email protected]

Ignacio Guerrero-Ros, Ph.D.

+1 (646) 942-5604

[email protected]