Meet Tara Rheault

Tara has dedicated her career to advancing respiratory disease treatment after seeing fewer breakthroughs than in other fields. A PhD organic chemist by training, she contributed to the discovery of an FDA-approved cancer therapy before finding her passion in respiratory medicine. As Chief Development Officer at Verona Pharma, she led the development of ensifentrine through to FDA approval in 2024 – the first inhaled treatment with a novel mechanism approved for COPD in more than 20 years.

“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.”