About Us
Tarsus Pharmaceuticals is a late clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of first-in-class therapeutic candidates to address large market opportunities initially in ophthalmic conditions where there are limited treatment alternatives, starting with Demodex blepharitis. Tarsus was founded in 2017 and is headquartered in Irvine, California.
Management Team
Bobak Azamian, M.D., Ph.D.
CEO
Bobby is co-founder and CEO of Tarsus. He has co-founded and built three companies advancing pioneering chronic disease treatments; provided leadership and strategic guidance through discovery, development, and commercialization; and raised over $150M.
Michael Ackermann, Ph.D.
Chairman
Michael is a co-founder of Tarsus and currently serves as the Chairman of the Board. Michael also serves as Chairman of Oyster Point Pharma, Inc. (NASDAQ: OYST) and Chairman of Presidio Medical, Inc. He was previously Vice President, Neurostimulation for Allergan, plc.
Leo Greenstein
Chief Financial Officer
Leo has more than 20 years of business experience within the life sciences and technology sectors. Prior to joining Tarsus, he was Senior Vice President of Finance & Corporate Controller at Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: SPPI).
Aziz Mottiwala
Chief Commercial Officer
Aziz Mottiwala has over 20 years of leadership experience in the biopharmaceutical industry, across all areas of commercialization in several therapeutic areas, including over 10 years in the Eye Care space. Prior to joining Tarsus, Aziz was Chief Commercial Officer at Opiant Pharmaceuticals, overseeing all aspects of commercial strategy for the company’s portfolio in addiction medicine.
Sesha Neervannan, Ph.D.
Chief Operating Officer
Sesha is a distinguished thought leader and expert with over 25 years of global drug development experience of novel therapeutics from discovery through commercialization with an emphasis on innovation, processes, and strategies, and a strong record of securing multiple global product approvals. Prior to joining Tarsus, he was a Senior Vice President of Global Pharmaceutical Development at Allergan Plc.
Elizabeth Yeu, MD
Chief Medical Advisor
(consultant)
Dr. Yeu completed a Fellowship in Cornea, Anterior Segment and Refractive Surgery (2007-2008) at the Cullen Eye Institute, Baylor College of Medicine. She is a partner at Virginia Eye Consultants and an Executive Committee member and the current Secretary for the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS). She will be President of the ASCRS in 2023.
Mark Holdbrook
Vice President, Clinical Affairs
Mark has over 40 years of experience in the design, execution, analysis and reporting of clinical trials. He has experience in the field of epidemiology and the medical device, biotechnology, and pharmaceutical industries. Prior to joining Tarsus, Mark was the Senior Director of Clinical Affairs and Biostatistics at Oculeve, Inc. where he led the successful clinical development of the TrueTear® device.
Kim Norman
Sr. Director,
Finance
Kim has more than 12 years of business experience within the life sciences sector. Prior to joining Tarsus, she was Director, Corporate Finance and Accounting at Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: SPPI) where she was responsible for their financial planning & analysis, accounting operations, Board and SEC reporting, and various IT system implementations to enhance finance and accounting capabilities.
Stephanie Baba, O.D., F.A.A.O.
Director,
Clinical Affairs
Stephanie is an experienced Director of Clinical Affairs with a demonstrated history of working in the pharmaceutical and medical device industries. Formerly, she practiced as an optometrist in many clinical settings throughout the San Francisco Bay Area.
Shawn Hickok
Director, Pharmaceutical Sciences
Shawn has extensive experience in both the development and commercialization of ophthalmic and injectable pharmaceutical dosage forms. Most of his 38 years of experience is in producing NCE, OTC, and Generic products.
Maáza Martin
Director,
Marketing
Maáza has over 13 years of experience in marketing, strategic consulting and analytics in the pharmaceutical industry. Prior to joining Tarsus, Maáza was Senior Manager of Strategic Marketing at Avanir where she led a cross-functional commercialization team responsible for the launch readiness of a CNS product expected to be the first-ever therapy for Agitation in patients with Alzheimer’s Dementia.
Steven Reyes,
Director, Project Management
Steven has 16 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry driving the development of novel therapeutics from ideation to commercialization in ophthalmology, urology, and oncology. Prior to joining Tarsus, he was an Associate Director of Project Management at Allergan where he led several cross-functional teams developing numerous ophthalmic assets.