Fina CEO Andrew Lees Honored by Harvey Mudd College

An esteemed research scientist and world-recognized leader in vaccine development, Andrew Lees founded Fina BioSolutions, a company committed to eliminating vaccine-preventable deaths of infants and children in emerging-market countries. With major partners in China and India, Lees is helping to create locally produced, affordable vaccines worldwide.

Lees is responsible for chemical improvements to protein-polysaccharide conjugate vaccines, some of the most complex vaccines to manufacture, but also known for producing stronger and longer-lasting results than those comprised of polysaccharides alone. His techniques have resulted in a better method for synthesizing conjugate vaccines for fatal childhood diseases such as Haemophilus influenza type-b, meningococcal disease and streptococcal pneumoniae.

Lees is also an associate professor of medicine at the University of Maryland’s School of Medicine in the Center for Vaccine Development. In addition, he is an associate professor in the Department of Medicine at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences and an affiliate at the University of Maryland Bioprocessing Scale-Up Facility. He received his chemistry degree from Harvey Mudd College and PhD in biophysics from Johns Hopkins University.