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Chief Development Officer, Verona Pharma

Tara has dedicated her career to advancing respiratory disease treatment after noting the lack of progress compared to other fields. Inspired by patients with respiratory conditions, her work led to the first FDA-approved novel inhaled COPD treatment in over 20 years in 2024. She first entered the industry as a PhD organic chemist, where she excelled at interpreting large data sets to solve scientific problems.

“My advice to the next generation is to continue investigating known disease drivers in novel ways and persisting until curative therapies are uncovered, especially for chronic progressive diseases. The potential to have a large impact on patients’ everyday health and wellbeing remains.”