Pfizer hires new leaders for immunology and vaccines units

Pfizer has announced the appointment of two experienced scientific leaders to head up key research units.

Dr Charles Reay Mackay has joined the company as chief scientific officer for the inflammation and immunology research unit, reporting directly to Dr Jose-Carlos Gutierrez-Ramos, group vice-president of biotherapeutics research and development.

He joins Pfizer from Monash University in Australia, where he is a research fellow, while he has previously held important biotech leadership positions at LeukoSite and Millennium Therapeutics.

Meanwhile, Dr Kathrin Jansen has been appointed as senior vice-president for vaccines research and development, effective as of June 1st 2015.

She will report to Dr Mikael Dolsten, president of worldwide research and development at Pfizer, and will leverage her more than two decades of experience as a vaccine researcher.

Dr Jansen was previously chief scientific officer of Pfizer's vaccine research and early development research unit. She has been with the organisation since 2006 and has been appointed as the successor to Dr Emilio Emini, who is joining the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.