Intarcia appoints Thane Wettig as chief marketing officer and metabolic franchise head

Thane Wettig has been appointed to the newly created role of chief marketing officer and metabolic franchise head at Intarcia Therapeutics Inc. Wettig will report directly to Kurt Graves, chairman, president and CEO of Intarcia, and will serve on the company’s executive leadership team.

Executives say in his role, Wettig will lead Intarcia’s marketing team, while simultaneously spearheading the implementation of the fully integrated launch plan for ITCA 650, the company’s lead investigational therapy for the treatment of type 2 diabetes (T2D) and the development of Intarcia’s metabolic assets in the pipeline.

“Thane is a well-rounded, accomplished leader with deep expertise in the diabetes and metabolic space,” Graves says. “He strengthens our organization with deep therapeutic and commercial leadership and brings to us a wealth of best practices, with a proven track record of building high-performing teams that can bring innovative therapies from development to market. I know I speak on behalf of everyone at Intarcia when I say we are excited and confident Thane will have a tremendous impact on the future of our company.”

Wettig brings extensive diabetes marketing experience to Intarcia. In his most recent role, he served as the chief marketing officer for Lilly Diabetes, Eli Lilly and Co.’s largest therapeutic area, where he led a team of more than 60 professionals responsible for new product development, brand management, market research and market access.

Wettig has extensive experience in the creation, launch, and evolution of multiple blockbuster diabetes brands and delivery devices including Humalog, Byetta, Bydureon, Trajenta, Jardiance, Trulicity, and Basaglar.

He also served as the commercial lead for the negotiation, structure and ongoing management of the Lilly/Boehringer Ingelheim diabetes alliance. He began his career at Lilly as a primary care sales rep, where he established himself as a top performer, and gained additional leadership and general management experiences in business development, sales leadership and Lilly’s German operation.

“Throughout my career, I’ve been driven by a mission to improve the outcomes of people with diabetes,” Wettig says. “This is a transformative moment in time for the future of type 2 diabetes management, and I believe that Intarcia’s lead product and pipeline have the potential to help shape the future of treatment for diabetes. I’m excited to lead a team that is working relentlessly to reinvent the way medicine is delivered to patients in need.”