(Reuters) – Pfizer Inc’s vaccines head Kathrin Jansen, who led the development of the U.S. drugmaker’s COVID-19 shot, has decided to retire later this year.
“Over the last two years, Kathrin’s legendary resolve, stellar scientific intuition, and vaccine development expertise ushered in the first glimmer of hope for humanity in the middle of the pandemic,” Chief Scientific Officer Mikael Dolsten said in a LinkedIn post announcing the retirement.
Pfizer developed the two-dose shot in collaboration with Germany’s BioNTech. The vaccine became available in the United States under an emergency use authorization in late 2020 and is now the Western world’s most widely used COVID-19 shot.
Jansen, who became the senior vice president of vaccine research and development in 2015, had been the chief scientific officer of the drugmaker’s vaccine research and early development research unit.
She previously led vaccine research at vaccines and health care products maker Wyeth, which was acquired by Pfizer over a decade ago.
When contacted, Pfizer pointed to the LinkedIn post by Dolsten without providing additional comment.
(Reporting by Amruta Khandekar; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)
