Henri Termeer Joins Verastem Board of Directors

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Verastem, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing drugs to treat cancer by targeting cancer stem cells, today announced the appointment of biotech industry pioneer Henri Termeer to the Board of Directors.

“The exciting work being done at Verastem brings new hope to patients with currently incurable breast cancers.”

“We are excited that Henri will be joining Verastem’s Board of Directors,” said Christoph Westphal, M.D., Ph.D., Chairman of Verastem. “We believe that Henri’s extensive experience and expertise, gained from building Genzyme into a leading global biotechnology company, will serve as an invaluable asset for Verastem.”

Mr. Termeer was chairman, president and chief executive officer of Genzyme Corporation for nearly three decades. Under his leadership, Genzyme grew from a modest entrepreneurial venture to one of the world’s leading biotechnology companies.

“Henri has a wealth of experience in developing successful drugs. This experience will help to guide Verastem in translating transformational science from bench to bedside,” said Richard Aldrich, Verastem cofounder and Lead Director. “The exciting work being done at Verastem brings new hope to patients with currently incurable breast cancers.”

“I am delighted to join Verastem’s Board of Directors and to work closely with this world-class scientific and entrepreneurial team. I believe Verastem's breakthrough work targeting cancer stem cells with novel small molecule drugs has the potential to revolutionize the treatment of breast and other major cancers,” said Mr. Termeer.

About Verastem, Inc.

Verastem, Inc. is a private biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing novel drugs that selectively target cancer stem cells. Cancer stem cells are an underlying cause of tumor recurrence and metastasis. Verastem is translating breakthrough discoveries in cancer stem cell research into new medicines for the treatment of major cancers such as breast cancer.

Verastem was founded by Rich Aldrich, Michelle Dipp, Piyush Gupta, Satish Jindal, Eric Lander, Robert Weinberg and Christoph Westphal. Verastem is backed by Bessemer Venture Partners, Cardinal Partners, Longwood Founders Fund, and MPM Capital. For more information, please visit www.verastem.com