Pfizer: Annaliesa Anderson
Annaliesa Anderson, Ph.D., has been appointed as Senior Vice President and Head of Pfizer’s Vaccine Research & Development (R&D) organization, effective August 1.
Anderson will succeed Kathrin U. Jansen, Ph.D., who is retiring from Pfizer.
Over the last two years, Dr. Anderson has led Pfizer’s 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.
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.
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.
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.
