Pneumococcal Vaccination for Adults: Conversation with Vaccine Scientists Dr. Heather Platt and Dr. Ulrike Buchwald from Merck – Xtalks Life Science Podcast Ep. 140

This episode features an interview with vaccine scientists and executives from Vaccines Global Clinical Development at Merck, Dr. Heather Platt, MD, Distinguished Scientist and Pneumococcal Vaccine Lead; and Dr. Ulrike Buchwald, MD, Scientific Associate Vice President, Global Clinical Research and Pneumococcal Vaccine Section Head.

Over the past ten years, Dr. Platt has worked across both infectious disease and vaccines products in both early- and late-stage clinical research. In her current role at Merck, she leads the product development team for V116, an investigational pneumococcal conjugate vaccine. Dr. Platt completed her training in Internal Medicine at Rutgers/Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, and Infectious Diseases Fellowship at New York Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center.

Dr. Buchwald applies her experience in public health and basic science research to expand Merck’s pneumococcal vaccine franchise and the development of next generation adult and pediatric pneumococcal conjugate vaccines. Since 2017, Dr. Buchwald has focused on pneumococcal disease prevention in various roles at Merck. Dr. Buchwald received her MD and Dr. med degree from the Freie University in Berlin, Germany, and completed her Internal Medicine residency and Infectious Diseases fellowship at New York University. She continues to see patients at Johns Hopkins University.

Merck recently announced results from STRIDE-3, a Phase III trial evaluating the immunogenicity, tolerability and safety of V116, the company’s investigational 21-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, which is specifically designed for the protection of adults against pneumococcal infection.

In this episode, hear more about V116, pneumococcal infection, Merck’s vaccine development program and the company’s approach to addressing the specific needs of different populations, including infants and children, adults and at-risk subgroups.

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