About Tamara

Tamara Darsow is a pharmaceutical executive dedicated to improving the health and well-being of people living with chronic cardiometabolic diseases. With more than 20 years of experience in the pharmaceutical and life sciences sectors, she has a proven track record of identifying innovation, cultivating high-value partnerships, and accelerating the development of differentiated medicines that drive market expansion. Tamara has held leadership positions at Novo Nordisk over the last 8 years across Research and Development, Commercial and Corporate Strategy, and today is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In her current role as Group Vice President of Global Business Development, she plays a pivotal role in shaping the company’s strategic growth by leading its M&A, BD&L and partnership initiatives. She works across academic, biotech and large pharmaceutical organizations and has been instrumental in closing critical deals in multiple therapy areas, including diabetes, obesity,  cardiometabolic disease and rare disease

Prior to joining Novo Nordisk, Tamara was Senior Vice President at the American Diabetes Association, where she successfully led research, medical and patient-focused programs. These programs drove scientific advancements in the field of diabetes and obesity, set the foundations for the development of groundbreaking therapies and established medical guidelines for their use. Prior to that she led external innovation initiatives at Amylin Pharmaceuticals, exploring the range of clinical applications for GLP-1, amylin and leptin through external partnerships. ​

Mara earned her PhD in Cell and Molecular Biology at the University of California, San Diego and was a Damon Runyon postdoctoral fellow at the Salk Institute for Biological Sciences in Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience. She has published numerous scientific and original manuscripts, book chapters and review articles, many related to cardiometabolic disease.