Kathrin Jansen

Last updated
Kathrin Jansen
Born
Ute Kathrin Jansen

1958 (age 64–65)
East Germany
Alma mater University of Marburg
Scientific career
Institutions Pfizer
Wyeth
University of Pennsylvania
Merck & Co.
VaxGen
GlaxoSmithKline
Cornell University
University of Marburg
Thesis Die Assimilation von Kohlenstoff durch Desulfovibrio barsii, ein Formiat-oxidierendes, Sulfat-reduzierendes Bakterium (1984)
Doctoral advisor Rudolf K. Thauer

Kathrin U. Jansen (born 1958) is the former [1] Head of Vaccine Research and Development at Pfizer. She previously led the development of the HPV vaccine (Gardasil) and newer versions of the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (Prevnar), and is working with BioNTech to create a COVID-19 vaccine using mRNA (Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine) that was approved for Emergency Use Authorization in the United States on December 11, 2020. [2]

Contents

Early life and education

Jansen was born in Erfurt, East Germany. [3] [4] She was frequently unwell as a child, and suffered several throat infections. The medical treatment she received from her father (antibiotics, codeine) inspired her to pursue a career in drug development. Her family fled to West Germany before the Berlin Wall was constructed in 1961. To transport Jansen across the border, her aunt pretended that she was her child, giving her some sleeping pills so that she didn't wake up and tell the border patrol the truth. [3] Her family settled in Marl, North Rhine-Westphalia. She eventually studied biology at the University of Marburg, with the hope to work in the pharmaceutical industry. [3] Whilst she was an undergraduate, Rudolf K. Thauer arrived at the university, and established a department of microbiology. [3] Jansen completed her doctoral degree at the University of Marburg, where she studied chemical pathways in bacteria. [5] [6] [7] After earning her degree, Jansen moved to Cornell University as an Alexander von Humboldt Foundation postdoctoral fellow investigating the function of the acetylcholine receptor with George Paul Hess. [8] [9] In particular, Jansen focussed on the yeast expression of multi-subunit neuronal receptors. [3]

Research and career

Jansen was fascinated by the development of novel pharmaceuticals, and wanted to return to Europe, so moved to Geneva to join the Glaxo Institute for Molecular Biology. At the Glaxo Institute for Molecular Biology Jansen encouraged the immunologists to create a novel receptor for immunoglobulin E. [3] She completed an internship in the laboratory of David Bishop at the University of Oxford, where she studied the expression of insect cells using baculoviridae. [3]

In 1992 Jansen moved back to the United States, where she joined the vaccine division at Merck & Co. She became interested in making vaccines, and started work on the human papillomavirus infection. [10] Soon after Jian Zhou and Ian Frazer started work on the HPV vaccine, proposing that the proteins of the human papillomavirus infection virus-like particles could be self assembled into something that could be used as a vaccine. Jansen proposed the vaccine should be made in yeast, a substrate which Merck & Co. had previously used for the Hepatitis B vaccine. [10] [11] Various innovations were required to ensure that the yeast did not degrade the virus like particles, and prevent their aggregation. [3] Jansen managed to convince Edward Scolnick that the experimental vaccine was worth pursuing, and started to make the assays. Jansen worked with Laura Koutsky at the University of Washington to conduct natural history studies that informed the phase 2 clinical trials. [3] In 2002 the vaccination was proven 100% effective, [12] [13] and Jansen left the Merck & Co. knowing that the vaccination would be a success. [10] [14] [15]

She joined VaxGen in 2004, where she was appointed chief scientific officer. [16] In 2006 Jansen left VaxGen to join Wyeth Pharmaceuticals in 2006, where she was responsible for vaccine discovery. [8] Here she developed the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (Prevnar-13). [17] In 2010 Jansen was appointed adjunct professor at the University of Pennsylvania. [8]

Jansen is concerned about the rise of vaccine hesitancy. During a conference at Pfizer in 2019, she said “I don't know what motivates an individual to ignore scientific facts. As scientists, it is our obligation to rectify misinformation and to provide the facts on what we know and what we don't know,”. [17]

During the COVID-19 pandemic Jansen oversaw the development of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. [18] [19] She looked at four potential candidates, before joining with BioNTech to improve the likelihood of identifying the vaccine with the highest potential. [10] [20] To test efficacy, Jansen and Pfizer are working under guidance from the Food and Drug Administration and conducting a 30,000 patient study. [10] In July 2020 Jansen announced positive results in their clinical trials, resulting in an increase in the share price of Pfizer. [21]

Select publications

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pfizer</span> American multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporation

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Human papillomavirus infection</span> Human disease

Human papillomavirus infection is caused by a DNA virus from the Papillomaviridae family. Many HPV infections cause no symptoms and 90% resolve spontaneously within two years. In some cases, an HPV infection persists and results in either warts or precancerous lesions. These lesions, depending on the site affected, increase the risk of cancer of the cervix, vulva, vagina, penis, anus, mouth, tonsils, or throat. Nearly all cervical cancer is due to HPV and two strains – HPV16 and HPV18 – which account for 70% of cases. HPV16 is responsible for almost 90% of HPV-positive oropharyngeal cancers. Between 60% and 90% of the other cancers listed above are also linked to HPV. HPV6 and HPV11 are common causes of genital warts and laryngeal papillomatosis.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is an executive agency of the Department of Health and Social Care in the United Kingdom which is responsible for ensuring that medicines and medical devices work and are acceptably safe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">HPV vaccine</span> Class of vaccines against human papillomavirus

Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines are vaccines that prevent infection by certain types of human papillomavirus (HPV). Available HPV vaccines protect against either two, four, or nine types of HPV. All HPV vaccines protect against at least HPV types 16 and 18, which cause the greatest risk of cervical cancer. It is estimated that HPV vaccines may prevent 70% of cervical cancer, 80% of anal cancer, 60% of vaginal cancer, 40% of vulvar cancer, and show more than 90% efficacy in preventing HPV-positive oropharyngeal cancers. They additionally prevent some genital warts, with the quadrivalent and nonavalent vaccines that protect against HPV types HPV-6 and HPV-11 providing greater protection.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gardasil</span> Human papillomavirus vaccine

Gardasil is an HPV vaccine for use in the prevention of certain strains of human papillomavirus (HPV). It was developed by Merck & Co. High-risk human papilloma virus (hr-HPV) genital infection is the most common sexually transmitted infection among women. The HPV strains that Gardasil protects against are sexually transmitted, specifically HPV types 6, 11, 16 and 18. HPV types 16 and 18 cause an estimated 70% of cervical cancers, and are responsible for most HPV-induced anal, vulvar, vaginal, and penile cancer cases. HPV types 6 and 11 cause an estimated 90% of genital warts cases. HPV type 16 is responsible for almost 90% of HPV-positive oropharyngeal cancers, and the prevalence is higher in males than females. Though Gardasil does not treat existing infection, vaccination is still recommended for HPV-positive individuals, as it may protect against one or more different strains of the disease.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sinopharm (company)</span> Chinese state-owned enterprise

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moderna</span> American biotechnology company

CRM197 is a non-toxic mutant of diphtheria toxin, currently used as a carrier protein for polysaccharides and haptens to make them immunogenic. There is some dispute about the toxicity of CRM197, with evidence that it is toxic to yeast cells and some mammalian cell lines.

mRNA vaccine Type of vaccine

An mRNAvaccine is a type of vaccine that uses a copy of a molecule called messenger RNA (mRNA) to produce an immune response. The vaccine delivers molecules of antigen-encoding mRNA into immune cells, which use the designed mRNA as a blueprint to build foreign protein that would normally be produced by a pathogen or by a cancer cell. These protein molecules stimulate an adaptive immune response that teaches the body to identify and destroy the corresponding pathogen or cancer cells. The mRNA is delivered by a co-formulation of the RNA encapsulated in lipid nanoparticles that protect the RNA strands and help their absorption into the cells.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Katalin Karikó</span> Hungarian-American biochemist (born 1955)

Katalin "Kati" Karikó is a Hungarian-American biochemist who specializes in ribonucleic acid (RNA)-mediated mechanisms, particularly in vitro-transcribed messenger RNA (mRNA) for protein replacement therapy. Karikó laid the scientific groundwork for mRNA vaccines, overcoming major obstacles and skepticism in the scientific community. Karikó received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2023 for her work, along with American immunologist Drew Weissman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Operation Warp Speed</span> US program to accelerate COVID-19 vaccine efforts

Operation Warp Speed (OWS) was a public–private partnership initiated by the United States government to facilitate and accelerate the development, manufacturing, and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics. The first news report of Operation Warp Speed was on April 29, 2020, and the program was officially announced on May 15, 2020. It was headed by Moncef Slaoui from May 2020 to January 2021 and by David A. Kessler from January to February 2021. At the end of February 2021, Operation Warp Speed was transferred into the responsibilities of the White House COVID-19 Response Team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BioNTech</span> German biotechnology company

<span class="mw-page-title-main">HPV Prevention and Control Board</span>

The HPV Prevention and Control Board, founded in 2015, is an independent group of international experts supported by unrestricted grants from the pharmaceutical industry that bring together key professionals, groups and government officials to deal with issues related to screening and prevention programmes for human papillomavirus (HPV) infection, the persistence of which may lead to cervical cancer, the second most common cancer in women living in low-resource settings. The Board focusses on preventing cervical cancer in these countries by promoting the sharing of information on cervical screening and HPV vaccination, which by 2014 had reached only around 3% of eligible girls in low income countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Uğur Şahin</span> German oncologist and immunologist (born 1965)

Uğur Şahin is a German oncologist and immunologist. He is the founder and CEO of BioNTech, which developed one of the major vaccines against COVID-19. His main fields of research are cancer research and immunology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine</span> Type of vaccine for humans

The Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, sold under the brand name Comirnaty, is an mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine developed by the German biotechnology company BioNTech. For its development, BioNTech collaborated with American company Pfizer to carry out clinical trials, logistics, and manufacturing. It is authorized for use in people to provide protection against COVID-19, caused by infection with the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The vaccine is given by intramuscular injection. It is composed of nucleoside-modified mRNA (modRNA) encoding a mutated form of the full-length spike protein of SARS-CoV-2, which is encapsulated in lipid nanoparticles. Initial advice indicated that vaccination required two doses given 21 days apart, but the interval was later extended to up to 42 days in the US, and up to four months in Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Özlem Türeci</span> German physician, scientist and entrepreneur

Özlem Türeci is a German physician, scientist and entrepreneur. In 2008, she co-founded the biotechnology company BioNTech, which in 2020 developed the first messenger RNA-based vaccine approved for use against COVID-19. Türeci has served as BioNTech's chief medical officer since 2018. Since 2021, she has been Professor of Personalized Immunotherapy at the Helmholtz Institute for Translational Oncology (HI-TRON) and Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz. Türeci and her spouse, Uğur Şahin, have won a number of awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of COVID-19 vaccine development</span> Scientific work to develop a vaccine for COVID-19

SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, was isolated in late 2019. Its genetic sequence was published on 11 January 2020, triggering an urgent international response to prepare for an outbreak and hasten the development of a preventive COVID-19 vaccine. Since 2020, vaccine development has been expedited via unprecedented collaboration in the multinational pharmaceutical industry and between governments. By June 2020, tens of billions of dollars were invested by corporations, governments, international health organizations, and university research groups to develop dozens of vaccine candidates and prepare for global vaccination programs to immunize against COVID‑19 infection. According to the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), the geographic distribution of COVID‑19 vaccine development shows North American entities to have about 40% of the activity, compared to 30% in Asia and Australia, 26% in Europe, and a few projects in South America and Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CureVac COVID-19 vaccine</span> Vaccine candidate against COVID-19

The CureVac COVID-19 vaccine was a COVID-19 vaccine candidate developed by CureVac N.V. and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI). The vaccine showed inadequate results in its Phase III trials with only 47% efficacy. In October 2021 CureVac abandoned further development and production plans for CVnCoV and refocused efforts on a cooperation with GlaxoSmithKline.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">COVID-19 vaccination in Taiwan</span> Plan to immunize against COVID-19

COVID-19 vaccination in Taiwan is an ongoing immunization campaign against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), in response to the ongoing pandemic in the country.

Onyema Eberechukwu Ogbuagu is an American-born infectious diseases physician, educator, researcher, and clinical trial investigator, who was raised and educated in Nigeria. He is an associate professor at Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, CT and is the director of the Yale AIDS Program clinical trials unit. His research contributions have focused on HIV/AIDS prevention and COVID-19 vaccination and treatment clinical trials. He switched his focus at the beginning of the 2019 COVID pandemic and participated as a principal investigator (PI) on the Pfizer-BioNtech COVID-19 vaccine trials and the Remdesivir SIMPLE trial in 2020 and 2021. In pursuit of his global health component of his career, Ogbuagu also supports postgraduate physician medical education programs in low and middle income countries in sub-Saharan Africa in Rwanda (2013–2018) and Liberia as well as HIV treatment programs in Liberia.

References

  1. ↑ Kingwell, Katie (2022-11-11). "COVID vaccines: "We flew the aeroplane while we were still building it"". Nature Reviews Drug Discovery. 21 (12): 872–873. doi: 10.1038/d41573-022-00191-2 . PMID   36369370. S2CID   253479433.
  2. ↑ "Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine". FDA. 2020-12-29.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Jansen, Kathrin U. (2010). "The path to developing a cervical cancer vaccine". Human Vaccines. 6 (10): 777–779. doi:10.4161/hv.6.10.13824. ISSN   1554-8600. PMID   20953153. S2CID   34408645.
  4. ↑ "Get Science Podcast: Finding That Key Ingredient". Breakthroughs. 2019-04-10. Archived from the original on 2021-01-17. Retrieved 2020-09-19.
  5. ↑ Jansen, Kathrin (1989). Pharmakokinetik und Pharmakodynamik von Atropin nach intravenöser und endobronchialer Applikation Untersuchungen am narkotisierten Hausschwein (Thesis) (in German). OCLC   721741019.
  6. ↑ Jansen, Kathrin; Thauer, Rudolf K.; Widdel, Fritz; Fuchs, Georg (1984-07-01). "Carbon assimilation pathways in sulfate reducing bacteria. Formate, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and acetate assimilation by Desulfovibrio baarsii". Archives of Microbiology. 138 (3): 257–262. doi:10.1007/BF00402132. ISSN   1432-072X. S2CID   8587232.
  7. ↑ Jansen, Kathrin; Fuchs, Georg; K.Thauer, Rudolf (1985-07-01). "Autotrophic CO2 fixation by Desulfovibrio baarsii: Demonstration of enzyme activities characteristic for the acetyl-CoA pathway". FEMS Microbiology Letters. 28 (3): 311–315. doi: 10.1111/j.1574-6968.1985.tb00812.x . ISSN   0378-1097.
  8. 1 2 3 "Kathrin Jansen, Ph.D. | Pfizer". www.pfizer.com. Retrieved 2020-09-19.
  9. ↑ "Kathrin Jansen, Pfizer". FierceBiotech. Retrieved 2020-09-19.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 "For its Covid-19 vaccine, Pfizer turns to a scientist who has gotten results". STAT. 2020-08-24. Retrieved 2020-09-19.
  11. ↑ Journal, Gardiner HarrisStaff Reporter of The Wall Street (2002-11-21). "Merck Vaccine Shows Promise In Preventing Cervical Cancer". Wall Street Journal. ISSN   0099-9660 . Retrieved 2020-09-22.
  12. ↑ Koutsky, Laura A.; Ault, Kevin A.; Wheeler, Cosette M.; Brown, Darron R.; Barr, Eliav; Alvarez, Frances B.; Chiacchierini, Lisa M.; Jansen, Kathrin U.; Proof of Principle Study Investigators (2002-11-21). "A controlled trial of a human papillomavirus type 16 vaccine". The New England Journal of Medicine. 347 (21): 1645–1651. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa020586 . ISSN   1533-4406. PMID   12444178.
  13. ↑ Grady, Denise (2002-11-20). "Experimental Vaccine Appears to Prevent Cervical Cancer". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2020-09-22.
  14. ↑ Grady, Denise (2002-11-21). "Vaccine Appears to Prevent Cervical Cancer". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2020-09-22.
  15. ↑ Grady, Denise (2003-06-22). "CANCER; The Cross-Country Duo Behind a Breakthrough Vaccine". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2020-09-22.
  16. ↑ "Kathrin Jansen departs Vaxgen - Pharmaceutical industry news". www.thepharmaletter.com. Retrieved 2020-09-19.
  17. 1 2 Ramaswamy, Swapna Venugopal. "Pfizer's Kathrin Jansen leads the charge on vaccines". The Journal News. Retrieved 2020-09-19.
  18. ↑ Ramaswamy, Swapna Venugopal. "Pearl River-based Pfizer working on coronavirus vaccine; head of vaccines answers questions". The Journal News. Retrieved 2020-09-19.
  19. ↑ Vardi, Nathan. "The Race Is On: Why Pfizer May Be The Best Bet To Deliver A Vaccine By The Fall". Forbes. Retrieved 2020-09-19.
  20. ↑ "Pfizer sees 'mostly mild to moderate' safety profile in phase 3 COVID-19 vaccine study". FiercePharma. Retrieved 2020-09-19.
  21. ↑ Lovelace, Berkeley Jr. (2020-07-01). "Pfizer stock jumps after it reports positive data in early stage coronavirus vaccine trial". CNBC. Retrieved 2020-09-19.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.