Kezar Life Sciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: KZR), a clinical-stage biotechnology company discovering and developing breakthrough treatments for immune-mediated and oncologic disorders, today announced the appointment of Nick Mordwinkin, Pharm.D., Ph.D., as Chief Business Officer. Dr. Mordwinkin will be key to the next stage of Kezar’s growth and will be responsible for shaping the company’s business development strategy.

“We are excited to welcome Dr. Mordwinkin to our executive team as Chief Business Officer. Nick is an experienced leader with a proven track record of building value through business development efforts and strategic partnerships,” said John Fowler, Kezar’s Co-founder and CEO. “As we continue to advance zetomipzomib and KZR-261 in the clinic and our novel drug discovery platform targeting the protein secretion pathway, I look forward to working closely with Nick to drive Kezar’s next chapter of growth.”

“I am thrilled to join Kezar at such a pivotal time for the company as it continues to advance its pipeline of development candidates,” said Dr. Mordwinkin. “I look forward to joining a passionate team that is dedicated to discovering and developing novel, first-in-class medicines with a patient centric goal of treating autoimmune diseases and cancer.”

Dr. Mordwinkin joins Kezar with over a decade of experience in the healthcare industry. Most recently, he served as Head of Corporate Development, Inflammation and Fibrosis, at Gilead Sciences, where he led a variety of transactions including partnerships and out-licensing, as well as a range of corporate development activities across the entirety of Gilead’s inflammation franchise. Prior to that, Dr. Mordwinkin served as Senior Director and Head of Corporate Strategy at Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical, where he was instrumental in crafting a partnership with GeneTx Biotherapeutics in 2020 and the acquisition of Dimension Therapeutics in 2017. Dr. Mordwinkin previously co-founded and served as the President of Curium Inc., a consulting firm focused on biotech and pharmaceutical strategy. Before that, he was an equity research associate at BMO Capital Markets covering SMID-cap biotechnology companies. Dr. Mordwinkin holds a B.S. in Biology and Pharm.D. from Nova Southeastern University and a Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the University of Southern California. Dr. Mordwinkin completed his postdoctoral training at Stanford University School of Medicine.

In addition, Kezar is reporting an unaudited cash position of approximately $307 million, including cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities as of June 30, 2022.

About Kezar Life Sciences

Kezar Life Sciences is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company discovering and developing breakthrough treatments for immune-mediated and oncologic disorders. The company is pioneering first-in-class, small-molecule therapies that harness master regulators of cellular function to inhibit multiple drivers of disease via single, powerful targets. Zetomipzomib, its lead development asset, is a selective immunoproteasome inhibitor being evaluated in a Phase 2 clinical trial in lupus nephritis. This product candidate also has the potential to address multiple chronic immune-mediated diseases. KZR-261 is the first anti-cancer clinical candidate from the company’s platform targeting the Sec61 translocon and the protein secretion pathway. An open-label dose-escalation Phase 1 clinical trial of KZR-261 to assess safety, tolerability and preliminary tumor activity in solid tumors is underway. For more information, visit www.kezarlifesciences.com.

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