INTERACTIVE SESSION: IMPLEMENTING A MENB VACCINE
This interactive session, involving a panel of experts in the fields
of vaccine development, epidemiology, clinical management and
research, will discuss the issues surrounding the introduction ofa
MenB vaccine into the UK immunisation schedule.
Questions on all aspects of MenB vaccine implementation are
invited from the audience as part of this ‘Any Questions’ style session.
MODERATOR
PROFESSOR ANDREW POLLARD
UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD
Andrew J Pollard, FRCPCH PhD, is Professor of Paediatric Infection and Immunity at the University of Oxford, Director of the Oxford Vaccine Group, James Martin Senior Fellow, Jenner Institute Investigator, Fellow of the Infectious Disease Society of America, Fellow of St Cross College and Honorary Consultant Paediatrician at the Children’s Hospital, Oxford, UK. He obtained his medical degree at St Bartholomew’s Hospital Medical School, University of London in 1989 and trained in paediatrics at Birmingham Children’s Hospital, UK, specialising in Paediatric Infectious Diseases at St Mary’s Hospital, London, UK and at British Columbia Children’s Hospital, Vancouver, Canada. He obtained his PhD at St Mary’s Hospital, London, UK in 1999 studying immunity to
Neisseria meningitidis in children and proceeded to work on anti-bacterial innate immune responses in children in Canada before returning to his current position at the University of Oxford, UK in 2001. He chaired the UK’s NICE meningitis guidelines development group, and chairs the NICE topic expert group developing quality standards for management of meningitis and meningococcal septicaemia. He sits on the Department of Health committee that considers use of meningococcal vaccines. He runs one of the largest paediatric research groups in the UK with 70 staff. Current research activities include clinical trials of new and improved vaccines for children, surveillance of invasive bacterial diseases in children in Nepal, studies of cellular and humoral immune responses to glycoconjugate and typhoid vaccines, and development of a serogroup B meningococcal vaccine. His publications include over 200 manuscripts and books on various topics in paediatrics, infectious diseases, and high altitude medicine.
PANEL
PROFESSOR RAY BORROW
VACCINE EVALUATION UNIT, HEALTH PROTECTION AGENCY, MANCHESTER
Prof Ray Borrow is Head of the Vaccine Evaluation Unit at the Health Protection Agency (HPA) North West, Manchester, UK, where he is responsible for the evaluation of serological responses to various bacterial and viral vaccines with a special interest in meningococcal and pneumococcal vaccines. He is also the Deputy Head of the HPA Meningococcal Reference Unit for England & Wales. He gained his PhD in 1994, his MRCPath in 2003, became an Honorary Professor of Vaccine Preventable Diseases at the University of Manchester in 2009 and Visiting Professor of the Manchester Metropolitan University in 2011. His scientific findings resulted in over 190 peer reviewed published papers. He serves as a member of the DoH Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) and frequently advises WHO and companies on both meningococcal and pneumococcal vaccines. He sits on the medical-scientific advisory panels for Meningitis Research Foundation, Meningitis UK and Meningitis Trust.
PROFESSOR IAN FEAVERS
NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR BIOLOGICAL STANDARDS AND CONTROL
Ian Feavers, PhD, is Head of the Division of Bacteriology at the NIBSC, UK. He studied for his
PhD at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, eventually moving to NIBSC after periods of
postdoctoral research at the University of Sheffield and the Friedrich Miescher Institut in Basel.
During the late 1990s, when new conjugate vaccines were being introduced, he headed the
laboratory responsible for the control and standardisation of meningococcal and pneumococcal
vaccines. Ian continues to oversee an active research programme on the molecular genetics
and immunology of meningococcal and pneumococcal antigens. Because of his broad
experience of bacterial vaccines and molecular biology, he has been closely involved with a
number of meningococcal vaccine developments. He regularly contributes to WHO and EU
guidelines, serves as one of NIBSC’s representatives on the Vaccine Working Party of the EMA,
and is a member of the JCVI subgroup on meningococcal vaccines. Ian teaches on a number
of vaccine related courses in the University of London and is a Visiting Professor at Imperial
College.
PROFESSOR ADAM FINN
UNIVERSITY OF BRISTOL
Professor Adam Finn is Head of the Academic Unit of Child Health at Bristol Medical School, Dept of Clinical Science South Bristol and an honorary consultant in paediatric infectious diseases and immunology at Bristol Royal Hospital for Children. He is director of the South West Medicines for Children Research Network and heads the Bristol Children's Vaccine Centre. He trained in Infectious Diseases at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and in Immunology at the Institute of Child Health in London where he obtained his PhD.
He worked in Sheffield between 1992 and 2001 where he was involved in several trials of meningococcal group C and other vaccines. His current main research interest is the mucosal immune response to respiratory bacteria including pneumococcus and meningococcus.
DR NICK KITCHIN
SENIOR DIRECTOR, VACCINE CLINICAL RESEARCH, PFIZER
Nick attended medical school in London where he obtained a BSc in Biochemistry with first
class honours in 1988 before qualifying as a physician in 1991. His early clinical career was as
an anaesthetist, probably the specialty in medicine where the clinical pharmacology of drugs
can be most obviously observed.
Seeking new challenges, Nick joined the pharmaceutical industry in 1994, initially working on
the first clinical trials of new drugs in man – so-called Phase I trials. In 1995 he joined the
Clinical Development department of Bayer Pharmaceuticals in the UK, working primarily on
later stage (Phases II to IV) clinical trials of cardiovascular drugs, for example for the treatment
of hypertension and hyperlipidaemia. In addition, Nick was the European project leader for a
replacement treatment for patients with alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency.
Nick started specialising in the field of vaccines in 1998 when he joined Pasteur Mérieux MSD
in the UK as Head of Clinical Affairs and Pharmacovigilance. He was integral to the licensure
of, and subsequent national recommendation for, the company’s paediatric vaccines Pediacel®, Repevax®, and
Revaxis®. Nick was also closely involved in the company’s response to the disproved allegations that MMR vaccine
caused autism and bowel problems. After a spell as Medical Director for Baxter BioScience in the UK, Nick became
Medical Director of Sanofi Pasteur MSD in the UK in 2004 where he was responsible for all activities of the medical
department including Medical Affairs, Medical Information, Pharmacovigilance, Regulatory Affairs and Quality
Assurance. Latterly he also took on responsibility for the company’s Health Economics and Market Access functions.
In 2011 Nick joined Pfizer as a Senior Director in Vaccine Clinical Research where he is part of the global team working
on the development of rLP2086, the company’s investigational vaccine against serogroup B meningococcal disease.
PROFESSOR MICHAEL LEVIN
ST MARY'S HOSPITAL, IMPERIAL COLLEGE LONDON
Michael Levin is Professor of Paediatrics and International Child Health, and Director of the Wellcome Centre for Tropical Clinical Medicine at Imperial College London. He trained in medicine in South Africa and in paediatrics in the UK before specialising in infectious diseases. His research has focused on life threatening infections of childhood. He currently heads an international EU-funded consortium studying novel diagnostic methods for tuberculosis in Africa working with colleagues in Malawi and South Africa. He recently led an ESPID funded consortium studying the genetic basis of meningococcal disease, and is a co-investigator on the MRC funded Phase III trial of fluids as supportive treatment for critical illness in African children (‘FEAST’), the results of which are recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine. He is the co-ordinator of a recently funded European Commission FP7 award studying the genetic basis of meningococcal and other life threatening bacterial infections of childhood, working with a consortium of colleagues from Europe, Africa and Singapore.
DR MARY RAMSAY
HPA COLINDALE, LONDON
Dr Mary Ramsay obtained her medical degree at University College in London. Before joining the Health Protection Agency she held an academic post at St Mary’s Hospital Medical School in London. She became a Consultant Epidemiologist in 1994 with responsibility for the national surveillance of vaccine preventable diseases, blood-borne hepatitis and transfusion transmissible infections.
She regularly produces information to the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation to inform policy on vaccination and for a range of groups on the prevention and control of hepatitis. She is joint Chief Editor of Immunisation Against Infectious Diseases – the recognised national source of advice on vaccination, last published in 2006 and with subsequent updated chapters. She has also been involved in several national guidance documents on public health policy in her disease areas. In addition she provides expert clinical and public health advice in the field of vaccination and blood borne virus prevention. Her work has directly contributed to several major decisions on national vaccination policy, that, in turn has provided benefits for public health.
She often acts as a temporary advisor to WHO on vaccine preventable diseases and advises the European Centre for Disease Control on surveillance and epidemiology of vaccine preventable diseases.
Over the past two years she has been Head of the Immunisation, Hepatitis and Blood Safety Department. In this role she has continued to lead national surveillance and to demonstrate a track record in surveillance development, in managing acute investigations and in providing expert advice and support to a wide range of professionals and organisations who contribute to public health, both in England and overseas. Dr Ramsay’s research interests involve establishing the potential role for new vaccines.
DR CHRIS WORTH
UK MEDICAL DIRECTOR, NOVARTIS VACCINES
Dr Chris Worth MRCGP FFPM FFPH is UK and Northern Europe Medical Director for Novartis
Vaccines and is based at the Frimley (UK) office. He graduated in medicine from Nottingham
University Medical School. After working for some years in general practice in the Midlands,
Chris became a successful Director of Public Health for a number of Health Authorities in West
Yorkshire within the NHS during the 1990s. Chris was also Visiting Professor of Public Health
at the University of Huddersfield during that period. He actively contributed to UK and local
public health policy and wrote many scientific publications.
Chris joined Janssen-Cilag Ltd in 2000 as Head of Medical Affairs, before moving to GSK as
the UK Head of Vaccines in 2005. He has been with Novartis Vaccines since May 2007. Chris'
current role is to lead a wide range of medical affairs activities in the UK, Ireland and Northern
Europe across the whole vaccines portfolio, with special reference to meningococcal disease.
In recent years, Chris has been Deputy Registrar of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine.