Johan Vekemans

Johan Vekemans (MD, PhD) trained as pediatrician, epidemiologist and immunologist, and has over 20 years of experience in vaccine R&D, often in context of large multi-institutional international collaborations.

He currently advises different organizations in vaccine R&D matters. From 2021 to 2025 he worked at IAVI as HIV Vaccine Product Development Team Lead then Lassa Vaccine Project Lead and Clinical Lead.

Until mid-2021 he was ChAdOx1-nCOV19 vaccine Global Clinical Head at AstraZeneca, responsible for international clinical development, until product licensure in most international markets and WHO recommendation.

He was formerly at WHO (2015-2019), Initiative for Vaccine Research, focal point for tuberculosis, HIV, malaria, RSV, Group B Streptococcus, Group A streptococcus vaccines R&D, coordinating expression of WHO priorities in vaccine R&D pathways, preferred product profiles and policy preparation.

He worked before that as Senior Director, Clinical Development at GSK on malaria candidate vaccine clinical development, overseeing translational science trials, experimental human infection trials, Phase 2 and 3 program implementation in healthy children, infants, neonates and HIV-infected children.

He has experience in pharmaceutical industry, WHO, public private partnership, capacity strengthening of research centres in Africa and investigator medical training, Independent Data Monitoring Committee activities. He previously lived and worked at the Medical Research Council, The Gambia and in Cochabamba, Bolivia.