Meet KemPharm’s New CEO Richard Pascoe '86

Pharmaceutical firm KemPharm Inc. hit a major milestone in 2021 when the US Food and Drug Administration approved the firm’s innovative treatment for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. Less than a year later, Celebration-based KemPharm (Nasdaq: KMPH) reached another pivotal moment in the 17-year-old firm’s history when it revamped its leadership team in January in order to turn the firm into a developer of rare disease treatments. Chief among those leadership changes was the appointment of Chairman Richard Pascoe '86 to CEO, which KemPharm announced January 9. KemPharm leaders are betting a focus on rare diseases can boost the company, which Pascoe told Orlando Business Journal would mean more job creation and investment at KemPharm’s Celebration headquarters. With $28.4 million in 2021 revenue, KemPharm is the 20th-largest publicly traded company in Central Florida, and the biggest in Osceola County, per OBJ research. Read more.