Pfizer appoints Annaliesa Anderson as Senior Vice President
New York: Pfizer Inc. has announced that Annaliesa Anderson, Ph.D., has been appointed Senior Vice President and Head of the Company's Vaccine Research & Development (R&D) organization effective August 1, succeeding Kathrin U. Jansen, Ph.D., who will be retiring from Pfizer.
With more than two decades of biopharmaceutical R&D experience, Dr. Anderson most recently served as Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer for Bacterial Research and Hospital within the Vaccine R&D organization. Under her leadership, Pfizer advanced into clinical development or approval bacterial vaccine programs directed at the prevention of diseases due to Streptococcus pneumoniae, Group B Streptococcus, Neisseria meningitidis, Staphylococcus aureus, and Clostridium difficile. Over the last two years, Dr. Anderson has led the team of infectious disease biologists that validated and delivered to an emergency use authorization PAXLOVID (nirmatrelvir [PF-07321332] tablets and ritonavir tablets), Pfizer's novel COVID-19 oral treatment.
"Annaliesa is a world-class scientist with a track record of delivering both vaccines and therapeutics in pioneering new areas of science and where there is urgent unmet need. I am confident she will work with passion, ingenuity, and dedication to lead Pfizer's Vaccine R&D organization and continue to advance our strong pipeline," said Mikael Dolsten, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer and President, Worldwide Research, Development and Medical of Pfizer. "I want to thank Kathrin for her tremendous contribution to our scientific community and the world at large. She leaves Pfizer's Vaccine R&D group stronger than ever and poised to continue to deliver innovative science."
Dr. Anderson joined Pfizer via Wyeth in 2007. Prior to Pfizer, Dr. Anderson worked at Merck Research Laboratories where she founded its prokaryotic bio-combinatorial engineering laboratory and initiated a bacterial vaccine program. Dr. Anderson earned her doctorate in Biological Sciences at the University of Warwick in the field of microbial ecology and then completed two post-doctoral fellowships. A Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology, Dr. Anderson has an extensive publication and patent portfolio in the areas of vaccine research and development, anti-infective research and development, bacterial surveillance, immunopathogenicity and microbial ecology.
"It is an exciting time to advance the next wave of vaccine innovation at Pfizer, leading the most talented team of experts in our industry," said Dr. Anderson. "We have a strong pipeline of innovative vaccine candidates, and deep expertise across vaccine technologies including mRNA, polysaccharide conjugation technology, and recombinant protein technology. With our longstanding heritage in vaccine innovation and contribution to human health, we are poised to continue delivering breakthroughs for patients."
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