Verastem Oncology Appoints Karin Tollefson, PhD, to Board of Directors

Verastem Oncology (Nasdaq:VSTM), a biopharmaceutical company committed to advancing new medicines for patients with cancer, today announced the appointment of Karin Tollefson to its Board of Directors, effective May 15, 2023. Dr. Tollefson is the Senior Vice President and Head of Global Medical Affairs at Seagen Inc. where she has led the medical organization through the successful launches of three practice-changing medicines and established a global medical affairs organization.

“Karin’s deep oncology and pharmaceutical experience and her work bringing groundbreaking new medicines to patients will be important as Verastem moves from late-stage development to commercial preparation,” said Michael Kauffman, M.D., Ph.D., Lead Director of the Verastem Oncology Board of Directors. “I am pleased to welcome Dr. Tollefson to the Board of Directors and to work with her to support the successful progress of Verastem’s avutometinib development program in combinations across RAS pathway-driven tumors.”

“I’m looking forward to bringing my medical affairs and program development expertise to the significant progress at Verastem to address difficult-to-treat RAS pathway-driven tumors as a member of the Board of Directors,” said Dr. Tollefson. “My recent launch experiences and insights in addressing the needs of patients and the healthcare community will be timely as the company works toward potential availability of a treatment for recurrent low-grade serous ovarian cancer, an area of significant unmet need.”

Karin Tollefson has 30 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry and is a proven leader in global oncology development and medical affairs. Dr. Tollefson spent much of her early career at Eli Lilly and Company serving in progressive leadership roles in clinical operations, clinical development, portfolio & program management, and global medical affairs. She supported Lilly’s acquisition and integration of ImClone Systems in 2008 and was part of the Oncology Business Unit Leadership team until her retirement in 2017. During her career, she has been involved in the launch of eight new medicines and numerous additional indications in the U.S. and international markets, serving patients in over 10 tumor and therapeutic areas. Dr. Tollefson has served on the philanthropic boards of the American Lung Association and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Indiana Board of Trustees. She started her undergraduate studies at Kansas State University and earned her Doctor of Pharmacy from the University of Kansas.