Speakers

With 18 years of experience in vaccine research, Derek currently serves as the President of Takeda’s Vaccine Business Unit (VBU). Derek joined Takeda in September of 2013 and previously served as Vice President and Head of the Global Dengue Program, where he led the global team in the development and commercialization of TAK-003.

Derek obtained his Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) from The University of Queensland in 1997 and worked clinically for 5 years in Australia and the United Kingdom before joining Merck KgGa. During his time with Merck, Derek obtained a Diploma of Pharmaceutical Medicine from the Royal College of Physicians in the UK.  Following Merck, Derek transitioned to the Novartis Transplant Business Unit where he was responsible for medical affairs and clinical development in the United Kingdom for two years.

After Novartis, Derek continued his professional career at Sanofi Pasteur, where he received his Diploma of Vaccinology from Institute Pasteur, Paris in 2008. He was the clinical team leader for key studies of Sanofi’s dengue vaccine candidate, and was responsible for the study design, conduct and interpretation of results.