Woody will be responsible for leading the company’s efforts to prepare for launch and to commercialise somavaratan in the US and Europe, pending regulatory approval.
Somavaratan is a novel, long-acting form of recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH) for growth hormone deficiency (GHD).
“We are very excited to have someone of Tracy’s caliber join the Versartis team,” said Jay Shepard, CEO of Versartis. “She was responsible for the build out of the commercial plan and team that launched Concerta, the first long-acting treatment for ADHD, in cooperation with J&J.”
“This launch established a market now dominated by specialty, long-acting methylphenidate products, which currently account for close to 80% of prescriptions.”
“Her tremendous experience driving a shift in a market’s standard of care to a more convenient, long-acting treatment will be key to our commercial success, should we receive regulatory approval.”
Woody has had a successful career with over 20 years of experience in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries. She is recognised for building effective sales and marketing teams and developing strategies for product launch and commercial success, most notably with long-acting formulations.
Most recently she served as the Chief Commercial Officer of KemPharm where she was responsible for building and managing the KemPharm commercial organisation to support the company’s product pipeline.
Prior to that, she held the role of Vice President, Sales and Marketing for NextWave Pharmaceuticals, where she worked on the commercial preparation of the first once-daily, extended-release liquid methylphenidate drug in the US to treat ADHD, now being marketed as Quillivant XR CII by Pfizer following its acquisition of NextWave.
Woody founded TMW Consulting, a provider of consulting services for emerging biotech and medical device companies. As a consultant, Woody served as acting CEO for one of the firm’s clients, RetroJect, a private ophthalmic medical device company focused on the treatment of glaucoma.
She spent eight years at Greer Laboratories as part of the executive management team. Earlier in her career, Woody was Director of Marketing for ALZA Corporation, and Marketing Manager in Pfizer’s US Pharmaceuticals Group, where she helped lead the launches of Ditropan XL and Zoloft respectively.
Woody received a BS in Health Promotion and Applied Physiology from East Carolina University with a Minor in Business Administration.
