Management Team

Charles P. Theuer, M.D., Ph.D.
President and CEO
Dr. Theuer joined TRACON as President, Chief Executive Officer, and a board member in July 2006. From 2004 to 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. Dr. Theuer was the Director of Clinical Oncology at Pfizer, where he led the clinical development of Sutent® in kidney cancer; Sutent® was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2006 for the treatment of advanced kidney cancer. Dr. Theuer has also held senior positions at IDEC Pharmaceuticals and the National Cancer Institute where he was involved in the development of multiple small molecules and monoclonal antibody therapies. Dr. Theuer holds a B.S. from MIT, an M.D. from UC San Francisco, and a Ph.D. from UC Irvine. He completed a general surgery residency program at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. Dr. Theuer has 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, and gastrointestinal cancer epidemiology.

Bryan R. Leigh, M.D.
Chief Medical Officer
Dr. Leigh joined TRACON as Chief Medical Officer in October 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 UC San Francisco in the School of Medicine, and at 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 managed the UC Davis Stereotactic Radiosurgery Program for the treatment of brain tumors, arteriovenous malformations, and age-related macular degeneration. Dr. Leigh holds a B.S. 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 completed a postdoctoral fellowship in Radiation Biology at Stanford University and was named Chief Resident at the University of Arizona Cancer Center Radiation Oncology Residency Program.

Sharon Real, Ph.D.
Vice President, Product Development
Dr. Sharon Real is TRACON’s Vice President responsible for Product Development. Dr. Real previously was Director of Regulatory Chemistry, Manufacturing and Controls at Pfizer where she led the Macugen® CMC activities culminating in global regulatory approvals. 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 Vice President of Clinical Operations in 2006. From April 2004 to August 2006, Ms. Adams was Manager of Clinical Operations at Pfizer, where she managed trials that contributed to the 2006 approval of Sutent® in Renal Cell Carcinoma and Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors. From 2002 to 2004, Ms. Adams was Manager of Clinical Operations at Biogen Idec where she managed studies that fulfilled post-approval commitments for Zevalin® and Rituxan®. Ms. Adams has managed both early and late-stage oncology studies of small molecules as well as biologics in the areas of lymphoma, lung, colorectal and breast cancer. She also has managed non-oncology programs including 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. Benedict is the Director of Regulatory Affairs at TRACON. Ms. Benedict previously held positions in Regulatory Chemistry, Manufacturing and Controls (CMC) at Pfizer and Amylin Pharmaceuticals. 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.