Step Pharma names Dr Karen Smith as chief medical officer

Step Pharma announced the appointment of Dr Karen Smith as chief medical officer, effective immediately. The France-based biotechnology company said Smith brings over 25 years of pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry experience.

Smith previously held senior executive positions at Bristol Myers Squibb, AstraZeneca and Merck. She has overseen more than 100 clinical trials and contributed to over 20 regulatory approvals across therapeutic areas including oncology, cardiology, dermatology, rare diseases and neuroscience, according to the company statement.

The new chief medical officer currently serves as a board member of publicly traded biotechnology companies Skye Bioscience (NASDAQ: SKYE) and Context Therapeutics (NASDAQ: CNTX). Step Pharma said Smith previously held board roles that resulted in seven corporate exits totaling nearly $20 billion, including Capstan Tx's acquisition by AbbVie in 2025 for $2.1 billion and Mariana Oncology's acquisition by Novartis in 2024 for $1.75 billion.

Smith holds an MD from the University of Warwick, a PhD in oncology from UCLA/University of Western Australia, an MBA from the University of New England, Australia, and an LLM from the University of Salford.

"Karen's passion for innovative medicine and her experience in leading clinical programmes will help to accelerate our mission to transform cancer and blood disorder treatment through our unique approach to CTPS1 inhibition," said Andrew Parker, chief executive officer of Step Pharma.

The appointment follows Step Pharma's recently announced €38 million Series C financing. The company is developing dencatistat, described as a first-in-class CTPS1 inhibitor for multiple cancer and blood disorder indications.

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