HBP:CC - Helix BioPharma Corp. Appoints New COO and Communications Director to Accelerate Growth and Deliver on its Mission Against Hard-to-Treat Cancers
(TheNewswire)
Toronto, Ontario – TheNewswire– April 24, 2025 - HelixBioPharma Corp. (TSX: “HBP” , OTC PINK: “HBPCD” , FRANKFURT: “HBP0” ) ( “Helix” or the “Company” ), a clinical-stage oncology company shaping a near futurewhere today’s hard-to-treat cancers are vincible, today announcedthe appointments of VeronikaKandziora as Chief Operating Officer( “COO” ) and JessicaKourniaktis, DPhil , as Director ofCommunications of the Company.
Ms. Kandziora is a seasoned executive with over 20years of leadership experience across the biopharma, financial, andconsulting sectors, bringing a rare trifecta of administrative acumen,people-centered leadership, and organizational insight to her role asCOO of Helix BioPharma. Her long-standing relationship with theCompany brings invaluable continuity and deep institutional knowledgeto this role, having supported corporate strategy, transformation, andstakeholder engagement for Helix in Europe and North America. Shepreviously served as Corporate Secretary of Helix (2017–2019) and asa strategic consultant to the Company’s leadership and Board in theyears leading up to her appointment. Alongside these roles, she spent15 years as an independent Asset Manager, advising clients oncorporate development, intellectual property, and strategicinvestments—primarily in the biopharma space. Ms. Kandziora beganher career in the financial industry in 2003, leading complexinternational projects across Germany, Austria, Italy, andLiechtenstein, and consulting for wealth managers, trustees, andinvestment funds with a focus on biotechnology, technology, and rawmaterials. A polyglot with a strong foundation in finance andcompliance, Ms. Kandziora holds a Diploma in Management andHospitality from the WIFI Academy of Applied Sciences in Austria, andis a certified Vocational Trainer in Liechtenstein. She has alsocompleted advanced compliance training with the Institute forCompliance and Quality Management (ICQM) and the Association forQuality Assurance of Financial Services (VQF), reinforcing her abilityto navigate complex regulatory and governance environments withconfidence and clarity.
Dr. Jessica Kourniaktis is a communications strategistwith 10 years of experience in the life sciences and an academicbackground in the Humanities, bringing a unique approach tocommunications that combines analytical depth with clear, compellingstorytelling. In 2020, she founded Manage Mind, a boutique consultancythrough which she has advised clients in oncology, cell therapy, rarediseases, and metabolic disorders, while also collaborating withindustry-leading communications firms and top-tier branding,storytelling, and design agencies to help science-driven venturesarticulate their vision and engage critical stakeholders. A formerTeaching Fellow at the University of Oxford, she began her industrycareer at SynDermix AG while completing her DPhil in Cold War andCultural History (2018), quickly rising to become the company’syoungest senior executive and first female member of the C-suite. Shewent on to serve as COO of two Swiss biopharma startups—LaevorocMedical AG and metaShape Pharma AG—and as a Board Member of ESGTI AG(2022–24), a Swiss investment firm formerly listed on BX Swiss,where she focused on market research, asset valuations of pre-revenuelife sciences ventures, and stakeholder reporting at both Board andshareholder levels. This breadth of leadership experience deeplyinforms her communications work, grounding it in a clear understandingof business priorities, investor expectations, and the internaldynamics that shape how science moves forward. Dr. Kourniaktis earnedher BA from the University of Bristol, her MA from University CollegeLondon (UCL), and her DPhil from the University of Oxford. She haspublished original research in peer-reviewed academic journals andcollective volumes, and was named Emerging Life Sciences CEO of theYear (Europe) in the 2022 Global CEO Excellence Awards for her leadership in advancing early-stage innovation. Dr.Kourniaktis will function as a consultant to Helix pursuant to aconsulting agreement between the Company and Manage Mind.
Ms. Kandziora, Chief OperatingOfficer of Helix BioPharma, said “ Helix is at a pivotal stage in its development—with apromising portfolio of assets and a new, determined focus on achievingits goals . As COO, my role is to bringstructure, clarity, and strategic alignment across the organization,ensuring that our operational foundation is strong and agile enough toempower our team, innovate from a position of strength, and fulfillour commitment to deliver better treatment options to those of usfacing hard-to-treat cancers—without delay.”
Dr. Kourniaktis, Director ofCommunications , added “Helix’s story is oneworth hearing—and we’re just getting started. Over the past fewmonths, I’ve had the privilege of supporting the Company’scommunication strategy, helping to shape how we show up and what westand for. As Communications Director, I’m excited to make sure morepeople understand the work we’re doing, get behind the vision, andhelp us move faster toward getting patients the treatments theyneed .”
Thomas Mehrling, MD, PhD, ChiefExecutive Officer of Helix BioPharma said“Veronika is highly regarded for her strengths in organizationalleadership, and her deep familiarity with the Company makes heruniquely positioned to support Helix through this next phase. Jessicabrings a sharp, strategy-first approach to communications, shaped byher experience across science, operations, and storytelling. Together,they strengthen our leadership team at a time when clarity, focus, andexecution are critical to delivering on our vision.”
About Helix BioPharma Corp.
Helix BioPharma is an oncology company shaping a nearfuture where today’s hard-to-treat cancers are made vincible bynovel therapies that rise to the challenge. The Company innovates fromstrength to tackle cancer’s biggest, most urgent challenges with adiverse pipeline of drug candidates with great potential and a headstart, honed into first- and best-in-class oncology medicines. Itspipeline is spearheaded by a clinical-stage proprietary technologyplatform of bio-conjugates that score with precision against prevalentCEACAM6-expressing solid tumors. Its lead candidate, Tumour DefenceBreaker™ L-DOS47, is a clinical-stage antibody-enzyme conjugate(AEC) that neutralizes the microenvironment of common, hard-to-treatsolid tumors, taking the brakes off anti-cancer immunity anddelivering a game-changing assist to today’s front-runninganti-cancer therapies. L-DOS47 has completed Phase Ib studies innon-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), with novel strategically designedbi-specific ADCs targeting CEACAM6 in discovery.
Helix is listed on the TSX under the symbol “HBP”,on OTC PINK under the symbol “HBPCD” and on FWB under the symbol“HBP0”. For more information, please visit : https://www.helixbiopharma.com/
For more information, pleasecontact:
Helix BioPharma Corp.
Bay Adelaide Centre - North Tower
40 Temperance Street, Suite 2
Toronto, ON M5H 0B4
Tel: +1 857 208 7687
Jacek Antas, Director
Forward-Looking Statements and Risksand Uncertainties
This news release contains certainstatements regarding Helix BioPharma Corp. that constituteforward-looking statements and information (collectively, “forwardlooking statements”) as defined by Canadian securities laws.Forward-looking statements are statements and information that are nothistorical facts but instead include statements regarding plans,goals, objectives, intentions and expectations with respect to theCompany’s future business, operations, research and development,including the Company’s activities relating to its CEACAM6 platform,L-DOS47 and new asset transactions that Helix intends to close.Forward-looking statements can further be identified by the use offorward-looking terminology such as “will”, “plans”,“expects”, or the negative thereof or any other variations thereonor comparable terminology referring to future events or results, orthat events or conditions “will”, “may”, “could”, or“should” occur or be achieved, or comparable terminology referringto future events or results.
Forward-looking statements arestatements about the future and are inherently uncertain and arenecessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that arealso uncertain. Although the Company believes that the expectationsreflected in such forward- looking statements are reasonable, suchstatements involve risks and uncertainties, and undue reliance shouldnot be placed on such statements. Forward-looking statements areintended to provide information about management’s current plans andexpectations regarding future operations and may not be appropriatefor other purposes. Certain material factors, estimates or assumptionshave been applied in making forward-looking statements in this newsrelease. The Company’s actual results could differ materially fromthose anticipated in the forward-looking statements contained in thisnews release as a result of numerous known and unknown risks anduncertainties, including the risk factors discussed in the Company’scontinuous disclosure record filed under the Company’s profile onSEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca from time to time. Forward-looking statements and information arebased on the beliefs, assumptions, opinions and expectations ofHelix’s management on the date of this new release, and the Companydoes not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statementor information should those beliefs, assumptions, opinions orexpectations, or other circumstances change, except asrequired.
Copyright (c) 2025 TheNewswire - All rights reserved.