• Effective August 1, Annaliesa Anderson will succeed Kathrin Jansen, who previously announced her retirement from Pfizer
NEW YORK, June 1, 2022 — Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) today 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.”
Pfizer’s Vaccine R&D organization includes nearly 1,000 colleagues focused on advancing leading platforms for vaccine discovery and development. Pfizer is developing an industry-leading portfolio of bacterial, viral, and maternal vaccines including candidates against pediatric pneumococcal disease, C. difficile infection, meningococcal disease in adolescents, Group B Streptococcus, Lyme disease and maternal and adult vaccination for respiratory syncytial virus.
About Pfizer: Breakthroughs That Change Patients’ Lives
At Pfizer, we apply science and our global resources to bring therapies to people that extend and significantly improve their lives. We strive to set the standard for quality, safety and value in the discovery, development and manufacture of health care products, including innovative medicines and vaccines. Every day, Pfizer colleagues work across developed and emerging markets to advance wellness, prevention, treatments and cures that challenge the most feared diseases of our time. Consistent with our responsibility as one of the world’s premier innovative biopharmaceutical companies, we collaborate with health care providers, governments and local communities to support and expand access to reliable, affordable health care around the world. For more than 170 years, we have worked to make a difference for all who rely on us. We routinely post information that may be important to investors on our website at www.Pfizer.com. In addition, to learn more, please visit us on www.Pfizer.com and follow us on Twitter at @Pfizer and @Pfizer News, LinkedIn, YouTube and like us on Facebook at Facebook.com/Pfizer.
Disclosure Notice: The information contained in this release is as of June 1, 2022. The Company assumes no obligation to update forward-looking statements contained in this release as a result of new information or future events or developments.
This release contains forward-looking information about, among other things, Pfizer’s vaccine pipeline and our efforts to pursue breakthrough vaccines that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements. Risks and uncertainties include, among other things, the uncertainties inherent in research and development, including the ability to meet anticipated clinical endpoints, commencement and/or completion dates for our clinical trials, regulatory submission dates, regulatory approval dates and/or launch dates, as well as the possibility of unfavorable new clinical data and further analyses of existing clinical data; the risk that clinical trial data are subject to differing interpretations and assessments by regulatory authorities; whether regulatory authorities will be satisfied with the design of and results from our clinical studies; whether and when applications may be filed in any jurisdictions for any vaccine candidates; whether and when any such applications may be approved by regulatory authorities, which will depend on myriad factors, including making a determination as to whether the product's benefits outweigh its known risks and determination of the product's efficacy and, if approved, whether any vaccine candidates will be commercially successful; decisions by regulatory authorities impacting labeling, manufacturing processes, safety and/or other matters that could affect the availability or commercial potential of our vaccine candidates; uncertainties regarding the ability to obtain recommendations from vaccine advisory or technical committees and other public health authorities and uncertainties regarding the commercial impact of any such recommendations; the impact of COVID-19 on our business, operations and financial results; and competitive developments.
A further description of risks and uncertainties can be found in Pfizer’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021 and in its subsequent reports on Form 10-Q, including in the sections thereof captioned “Risk Factors” and “Forward-Looking Information and Factors That May Affect Future Results”, as well as in its subsequent reports on Form 8-K, all of which are filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and available at www.sec.gov and www.pfizer.com.
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