Elizabeth Tarka, MD

Elizabeth Tarka, MD is a cardiologist and C-suite executive with 20 years of experience in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry. Her academic and industry career has been dedicated to the development and delivery of innovative therapies that improve human health. Dr. Tarka’s experience includes leadership roles across all phases of late-stage clinical development at both smaller biotech and two of the largest global pharmaceutical companies where she has a track record of effectively partnering with numerous stakeholders to enable the successful execution of multiple clinical trials. She has served as Chief Medical Officer at two prior companies, a clinical‑stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel gene therapies for cardiovascular diseases and one with a primary focus on rare diseases and immuno-oncology. Earlier in her career, she served as Clinical Program Lead for Xarelto® (rivaroxaban), a multi-billion dollar medicine at Janssen Pharmaceuticals, where she was responsible for the design, implementation, and medical oversight for large multinational trials for successful sNDAs and life cycle management. Prior to her tenure at Janssen, Dr. Tarka worked at GlaxoSmithKline in the Metabolic Pathways and Cardiovascular Therapeutic Area. She started her career on the faculty at the University of Pennsylvania as an Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Cardiovascular Division where she currently serves on the Adjunct Faculty and is a workshop leader for the Cardiovascular Pathophysiology course in the Perelman School of Medicine. Dr. Tarka is the Founder of Tarka MD BioPharm Consulting and works with start-up companies developing novel medicines. She has been board certified in Cardiology and Internal Medicine and has published articles in numerous peer-reviewed journals. Dr. Tarka earned a BA in Biochemistry and a Doctor of Medicine from the University of Pennsylvania where she also completed her residency and fellowship training.