Management Team

Charles P. Theuer, M.D., Ph.D.
President and CEO
Dr. Theuer joined Tracon as its President and Chief Executive Officer, and a member of its board of directors, in July 2006. Prior thereto, from October 2004 to July 2006, Dr. Theuer was Chief Medical Officer and Vice President of Clinical Development at TargeGen Inc, where he led the development of small molecule kinase inhibitors in oncology, ophthalmology and cardiovascular disease. From October 2003 to October 2004, Dr. Theuer was the Director, Clinical Oncology at Pfizer, where he led the clinical development of Sutent® (sunitinib maleate) in kidney cancer; Sutent® was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in January, 2006 for treating advanced kidney cancer. Prior thereto, Dr. Theuer held senior positions at IDEC Pharmaceuticals, from June 2002 to October 2003, and the National Cancer Institute, prior thereto, developing other agents, including small molecules and monoclonal antibody therapies. Dr. Theuer holds a B.S. degree from MIT, M.D. degree from UC San Francisco and Ph.D. degree from UC Irvine. He completed a residency in general surgery at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. Dr. Theuer held academic positions at the National Cancer Institute and at the University of California, Irvine, where he was a member of the Division of Surgical Oncology. His previous research involved immunotoxin and cancer vaccine development, translational work in cancer patients as well as gastro-intestinal cancer epidemiology.

Bryan R. Leigh, M.D.
Chief Medical Officer
Dr. Leigh joined TRACON as Chief Medical Officer in September 2008. He most recently worked at Paramount Biosciences as Chief Medical Officer. He has also held positions at Genentech, IDEC Pharmaceuticals, and Biogen Idec where he was responsible for global clinical oncology development, managing multiple clinical stage programs and marketed products including Rituxan® and Zevalin®. Prior to industry, Dr. Leigh held faculty positions at the UC San Francisco School of Medicine and the UC Davis Cancer Center. He previously served as Co-Chair of the Southwest Oncology Group Lung Cancer Committee, Principal Investigator for the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group, and founding member of the NCI-sponsored AIDS malignancies consortium. He also ran the UC Davis Stereotactic Radiosurgery Program for treatment of brain tumors, arteriovenous malformations, and age-related macular degeneration. Dr. Leigh holds a B.S. degree from UC Irvine in the field of Biological Sciences with a focus on Genetics, and a M.D. from the UC San Francisco School of Medicine. He also completed a postdoctoral fellowship in Radiation Biology at Stanford University and was named Chief Resident for the University of Arizona Cancer Center Radiation Oncology Residency Program.

Sharon Real, Ph.D.
Vice President, Product Development
Dr. Sharon Real is the Vice President, Product Development of Tracon. Dr. Real previously was Director of Regulatory Chemistry, Manufacturing and Controls (CMC) at Pfizer, Inc. in La Jolla, California. At Pfizer, in addition to her role as department head, she led the Macugen® CMC activities, culminating in the global regulatory approvals of this product. Prior to Pfizer, Dr. Real held positions at Ligand Pharmaceuticals and Agouron Pharmaceuticals where she held key roles in the development and commercialization of Viracept® Tablets, Targretin® Gel and Targretin Capsules. She began her pharmaceutical career at Bristol-Myers Squibb in Chemical Process Research. Dr. Real’s responsibilities have included leading chemical and pharmaceutical development teams from compound identification through commercialization.

Dr. Real earned her Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from the University of California, Los Angeles and a B.S. in Chemistry from Stanford University.

Bonne Adams, M.B.A.
Vice President, Clinical Operations
Ms. Adams joined Tracon as its Vice President, Clinical Operations in August 2006. Prior thereto, from April 2004 to August 2006, Ms. Adams was the Manager, Clinical Operations at Pfizer, where she managed trials that contributed to the January 2006 approval of Sutent® in Renal Cell Carcinoma and GastroIntestinal Stromal Tumors. From April 2002 to April 2004, Ms. Adams was the Manager, Clinical Operations at BiogenIDEC, where she managed studies that fulfilled post-approval commitments for the Zevalin® and Rituxan® programs. Ms. Adams has managed both early and late-stage oncology studies of small molecules as well as biologics in the areas of lymphoma and lung, colorectal and breast cancer. She also has managed non-oncology studies in the areas of allergy, pulmonary disease and depression. Ms. Adams received her B.S. from the University of Colorado and M.B.A. from The University of Phoenix.

Suzy Benedict, M.S.
Director of Regulatory Affairs
Ms. Suzy Benedict is the Director of Regulatory Affairs at Tracon. Ms. Benedict previously held positions in Regulatory Chemistry, Manufacturing and Controls (CMC) at Pfizer, Inc. in La Jolla, California and Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc. in San Diego, California. At Pfizer, she led the Regulatory CMC activities for the approval of Viracept® Tablets, 625 mg and played a key role in the global approvals for Macugen®. She began her pharmaceutical career at Agouron Pharmaceuticals in Medicinal Chemistry synthesizing VEGF inhibitors. Ms. Benedict has led the Regulatory CMC activities on chemical and pharmaceutical development teams from compound identification through commercialization and has experience with small molecule, peptide, oligonucleotide and protein products spanning a wide range of therapeutic areas.

Ms. Benedict earned her B.A. from the University of California, Santa Barbara and a M.S. in Chemistry from San Diego State University.