Session Chair Profile
Ph.D., Sr. VP R&D, Head of Infectious Diseases & Vaccines Innovative Medicines unit (iMED), MedImmune
Biography
Dr. Steve Projan is the Head of Infectious Diseases & Vaccines Innovative Medicines unit (iMED) at MedImmune, leading a cross-functional team dedicated to the therapeutic area strategy, prioritization and advancement of the company’s infectious disease and vaccine portfolio. Dr. Projan joined MedImmune in 2010 as senior vice president of research and development and head of the Infectious Diseases & Vaccines iMED. Prior to joining MedImmune, Dr. Projan served as vice president and global head of Infectious Diseases at Novartis. He previously spent 15 years at Wyeth in roles of increasing responsibility with his last post as vice president and head of Biological Technologies. Prior to Dr. Projan’s work in the industry, he spent 14 years at the Public Health Research Institute and presently has over 110 publications to his credit. Dr. Projan is a graduate of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Columbia University.
Session Abstract – PMWC 2017 Silicon Valley
Session Synopsis: Immunotherapy for infectious diseases was invented in the 19th century but fell out of favor when antibiotics were discovered and developed in the middle of the 20th century. In fact, to date there is only one single monoclonal antibody in clinical use for an infectious disease. However, several are now in development. Coupled with rapid diagnostics these pathogen-specific agents may well serve to bring us back to the future.
