Maxwell Biosciences Names Two Biotech Leaders to Its Board of Directors

AUSTIN, Texas–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Maxwell Biosciences, a preclinical drug platform company focused on the development of first-in-class, synthetic small molecules that mimic natural peptides, today announced the appointment of Kate McKinley and Douglas S. Boothe to its Board of Directors. The appointments add experienced pharmaceutical industry CEOs with extensive commercialization, distribution and successful market access expertise to Maxwell’s board. 

“I am pleased to welcome Kate and Doug to Maxwell’s Board of Directors,” said Maxwell Biosciences Chairman and CEO Joshua McClure. “They bring proven track records and highly relevant expertise as we look to advance our CLAROMER™ drug discovery platform and potentially provide patients a new way to safely and effectively fight diseases caused by viruses, bacteria and fungi.”

Kate McKinley has successfully executed regulatory and commercial strategies in cell therapy and small molecule oncology throughout her more than 20-year career in biotech. She brings a successful track record in rare/orphan designations; and urology, gynecology, immunology, and cardiology with both mature and novel products. She is the former Chief Executive Officer of Elevar Therapeutics, an integrated oncology-focused biopharmaceutical company, where she served from July 2021 until July 2022. She originally joined Elevar in 2019 as Chief Commercial Officer, where she scaled and led their global commercial, medical affairs, business development, manufacturing, supply chain, alliance management, and corporate communications organizations. Kate was previously the Vice President of Marketing, Training, and Commercial Operations at Dendreon, where she was responsible for the first FDA-approved personalized immunotherapy to treat metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer. Prior to Dendreon, she 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. She graduated summa cum laude from The University of Tulsa with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in Marketing, Management and Psychology, and holds a Master of Business Administration in Marketing Strategy from the university’s Collins College of Business.

Douglas S. Boothe is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Akorn, a specialty pharmaceutical company. Prior to joining Akorn in January 2019, he was President of the U.S. Generics Division of Impax Laboratories, where he led a $600 million business and successfully expanded market share of the generic epinephrine auto-injector Adrenaclick®. Doug previously was the Executive Vice President and General Manager, Pharmaceuticals, at Perrigo, where he was responsible for product selection, R&D prioritization, financial and operational planning, and commercial sales and marketing operations. Earlier in his career, he was the Chief Executive Officer of Actavis, a global generic pharmaceutical company that merged with Allergan in 2015. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from Princeton University, and holds a Master of Business Administration in Management and Marketing from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

About Maxwell Biosciences

Founded in 2016, Maxwell Biosciences is a preclinical drug platform company that develops biomimetic therapeutics – synthetic compounds that mimic and improve upon natural peptides. Inspired by nature, these small molecules are created by Maxwell’s exclusive, first-in-class CLAROMER™ drug discovery platform and have been shown to be effective in destroying viruses, bacteria, fungi and biofilms with a single compound, while safely avoiding healthy cells. This “One Drug for Many Bugs” technology has been shown to be well-tolerated in human tissues in vitro, and in multiple animal studies. The compounds imitate key components of the immune system, humanity’s greatest asset in fighting disease. Maxwell’s technology is protected by numerous granted and pending patents and is led by a world-class team of experienced life science executives. To learn more about Maxwell Biosciences, visit MaxwellBiosciences.com, or follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.