Kathrin U Jansen is the Senior Vice President and Head of Vaccine Research and Development (VRD) at Pfizer Inc. She has 36 years of experience in vaccine R&D and has led the development of the world’s two bestselling vaccines, ‘Gardasil’ against human papillomavirus (HPV) and ‘Prevnar 13’ to combat pneumococcus. Both these vaccines are the world’s top-selling vaccines, though her latest Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine may overtake these two!
How did she do it? Jansen led a 650-member team night and day to develop a vaccine for Covid-19. She developed this vaccine in just 210 days – from the beginning of testing in April to the completion of clinical trials in November. The resulting Pfizer vaccine for Covid-19 is considered one of the most effective vaccines on the market today.
Jansen’s tryst with medication began as a child. She was frequently unwell and suffered multiple throat infections. Her father would provide medication for her ailments and the relief she felt after the drugs were administered inspired her to pursue a career in drug development to help others.
Born in 1958 in East Germany Jansen’s family fled to West Germany before the Berlin Wall was constructed in 1961. Jansen then moved to Cornell University as a research fellow. Jansen completed her doctoral degree at the University of Marburg, where she studied chemical pathways in bacteria. After earning her Ph.D. in 1984, Jansen worked in Cornell and Massachusetts General Hospitals.
She served as Senior Vice President at Wyeth Pharmaceuticals and spent 12 years at Merck Research Laboratories where she directed and supported a number of vaccine efforts, including Merck’s novel bacterial vaccine programs and viral vaccine programs (rotavirus, zoster and mumps, measles and rubella), before becoming the Head of Vaccine Research and Development (VRD) at Pfizer Inc in 2009.
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