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Tragara has assembled an expert team of entrepreneurs to carry out its mission. These individuals have extensive experience in essential areas of the Tragara mission: market-driven cancer product development, marketing, business development, biotechnology and specialty pharmaceutical management, and finance.
Executive Management
Thomas M. Estok
President and Chief Executive Officer
Mr. Estok is a Biotech entrepreneur who brings nearly 25 years of experience in the development and commercialization of pharmaceuticals to his leadership role at Tragara. Mr. Estok is also co-founder of Aarden Pharmaceuticals and serves as its Chairman. Prior to Tragara, Mr. Estok was the founding President and CEO of Cabrellis Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Pharmion for $104 million) and Chief Commercial Officer of Conforma Therapeutics (acquired by Biogen-Idec for $250 million). During his 19-year tenure at Schering-Plough, Mr. Estok held a number of positions with progressing responsibility in R&D, in both international and domestic marketing, sales, and commercial development. Mr. Estok has led the development and/or commercialization efforts of several oncology products including temozolomide, liposomal doxorubicin, amrubicin, flutamide, and the interferon franchise. Mr. Estok received a BS degree in Biochemistry from Virginia Tech and was awarded an MBA from Fairleigh Dickinson University.
Tracy Lawhon, J.D.
Vice President, Regulatory Affairs and Development Operations
Ms. Lawhon joins Tragara from Cabrellis Pharmaceuticals
where she was Vice President, Regulatory Affairs and Development
Operations until the merger with Pharmion Corporation. She
has over 20 years experience and has contributed to the development,
registration and commercialization of key products including
Gemzar, Temodar, Tasigna, Zyprexa and Evista. Previously,
she was Executive Director, Project Management at Novartis
Pharmaceuticals Corporation in Florham Park, New Jersey. In
that role, she led the development, registration and commercialization
strategy for Tasigna, ranked 2nd priority program within Novartis,
from First-In-Man through global regulatory submission. Under
her leadership, development from FIM to submission was completed
in 29 months. This was a new milestone for a NCE development
timeline and was used as a benchmark for future accelerated
programs within Novartis. From 1997 to 2004, she was with
Schering-Plough Research Institute in Kenilworth, New Jersey,
where she led programs to establish compliance with 21 CFR
Part 11 and to redevelop analytical methodology for marketed
products across global manufacturing sites. Additionally,
she represented the organization in global health authority
meetings and contributed to strategy development and licensing
for oncology and CNS products. Prior to that, she worked with
Warner Lambert Company, Eli Lilly and Company, and Abbott
Laboratories. Ms. Lawhon has a B.S. in microbiology from Indiana
University and a Jurisprudence Doctorate from the Indiana
University School of Law in Indianapolis, Indiana. She is
a member of the Indiana State Bar Association.
Chris LeMasters
Chief Business Officer
Mr. LeMasters joins Tragara after serving as Chief
Business Officer and co-founder of Cabrellis Pharmaceuticals.
While at Cabrellis, Mr. LeMasters was responsible for negotiating
the $104 million acquisition by Pharmion Corporation. Previously,
he served as Vice President, Business Development of Conforma
Therapeutics where he was responsible for the in-licensing
of Amrubicin from Dainippon Sumitomo and for negotiating the
$250 million acquisition by Biogen Idec. Mr. LeMasters earlier
worked for six years in Corporate Business Development at
Eli Lilly and Company in Indianapolis. In that role, he was
responsible for the successful negotiation of numerous partnerships
and licenses across diverse therapeutic areas. Additionally,
he led or contributed to multiple strategy development projects,
and was instrumental in the redesign of Lilly's licensing
processes and organization. Mr. LeMasters was also a management
consultant with Coopers & Lybrand Consulting in Chicago
for four years, where he led strategy consulting projects
for Fortune 500 clients. He began his business career as an
operational auditor with Owens Corning Fiberglas in Toledo,
Ohio. Mr. LeMasters has a B.A. in Finance from Indiana University
and an M.B.A. with honors from the University of Chicago.
Mr. LeMasters is a member of the board of directors of the
Hoosier Oncology Group in Indianapolis, and Aarden Pharmaceuticals,
where he is also a co-founder.
Sara Zaknoen, M.D.
Chief Medical Officer
Dr. Zaknoen joins Tragara from Cabrellis Pharmaceuticals where she
served as Chief Medical Officer until the acquisition of Cabrellis
by Pharmion Corporation in November 2006. Prior to joining
Cabrellis, she was employed by Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation
in Florham Park, New Jersey, where she had been executive
director of Clinical Oncology Research since 2002. From 1998
to 2002, she was with Schering-Plough Research Institute in
Kenilworth, New Jersey, where she was director, Clinical Oncology
Research. In addition to her work in the pharmaceutical industry,
Dr. Zaknoen has led a distinguished academic and clinical
career. Previously, she was assistant professor of Medicine
at the University of Cincinnati, College of Medicine in Ohio,
medical director at the Barrett Cancer Center at the Univeristy
of Cincinnati Hospital, and director of Experimental Therapeutics
at the Western Pennsylvania Hospital in Pennsylvania. Dr.
Zaknoen has a B.S. with distinction from Valparaiso University
and an M.D. from the Indiana University School of Medicine
in Indianapolis, where she graduated summa cum laude. She
completed her residency in internal medicine and her fellowship
in hematology and medical oncology at the University of Minnesota.
She continued her research work at the National Cancer Institute
where she served as a Medical Staff Fellow.
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