GSK Appoints Phil Dormitzer Global Head of Vaccines, Research

GSK recently appointed Phil Dormitzer, MD, PhD, as global head of vaccines research and development and a member of the vaccines leadership team.

Previously, Dormitzer was vice president and chief scientific officer of RNA and viral vaccines at Pfizer, where he was responsible for the viral vaccines research and development profile. The profile included two of the company’s RSV vaccine candidates, which are in Phase 3 trials.

Additionally, Dormitzer was responsible for Pfizer’s RNA-based influenza vaccine candidate and provided scientific leadership to develop the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.

Prior to working at Pfizer, Dormitzer lead the research component of Novartis’ response to the H1N1 influenza pandemic, including three licensed vaccines.

In his role with GSK, Dormitzer will report to Hal Barron, chief scientific officer and president of research and development.

“I am delighted to have Phil, a renowned vaccinologist and scientific leader, join GSK. The importance of vaccines has never been clearer, and the pace of technological innovation has rarely been greater,” Barron said in the announcement.

“Phil’s scientific expertise and significant experience with key innovative technologies, such as mRNA, structure-based antigen design and synthetic biology, will be key to ensuring we remain a leader in this field,” he continued.

GSK’s profile consists of vaccines for HIV, multiple myeloma, non-small cell lung cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, COPD, hepatitis B, tuberculosis, COVID-19, malaria, and more.

In May, GSK’s COVID-19 vaccine candidate elicited significant humoral immune response across all age groups when administered in combination with the company’s pandemic adjuvant.

Researchers found that the vaccine with the pandemic adjuvant induced greater humoral response in adults than older adults after a single dose, but after the second dose, both age cohorts responded with neutralizing antibody titers that were nearly 10 times higher than those in patients recovering from COVID-19. 

Last month, GSK welcomed the World Health Organization’s (WHO) recommendation for the broader development of GSK’s RTS, S malaria vaccine to reduce childhood illness and deaths from malaria in sub-Saharan Africa and other regions.

WHO gathered its recommendations from the malaria vaccine pilot programs in Ghana, Kenya, and Malawi. The positive results are the second key milestone for the RTS,S malaria vaccine in recent weeks.