Vaccines

Asia Leaders

Uğur Şahin Is Preparing to Leave BioNTech. The Oncology Pipeline Must Outlast Its Founder

BioNTech’s Covid success funded an ambitious oncology pipeline. With Uğur Şahin preparing to leave, clinical execution and succession have become inseparable.

Asia Leaders

Noubar Afeyan Oversaw Moderna’s $2.2 Billion Cost Reset. The Cash Runway Is the Board’s Next Test

Noubar Afeyan’s most consequential job in 2026 is chairing Moderna through a costly transition. The board has backed deep savings and a tighter pipeline; its next obligation is to show that lower spending can produce durable medicines before cash declines too far.

Asia Leaders

Sania Nishtar Is Rebuilding Gavi Around a US$3 Billion Funding Gap

Gavi entered its 2026–2030 strategy with more than US$9 billion pledged but roughly US$3 billion less than requested. Sania Nishtar’s answer is a leaner, country-led operating system that must protect procurement scale and accountability.

Asia Leaders

Adar Poonawalla’s Malaria Vaccine Capacity Is Running Ahead of the Funding Market

Adar Poonawalla has made Serum Institute central to the malaria vaccine market, with R21 capacity and a new Oxford licence for R78C. The commercial constraint is no longer supply alone, but financed demand and durable procurement.