Dr Tonya Villafana | Vice President, Franchise and Medical & Scientific Affairs
AstraZeneca

Dr. Tonya Villafana is Vice President, Franchise, Medical & Scientific Affairs, Vaccine & Immune Therapies at AstraZeneca. She has dedicated her career to protecting millions of people around the world from the most challenging infectious diseases. Driven by the belief that as viral and bacterial pathogens do not discriminate in who they affect, scientific pursuits and healthcare systems must also protect the most vulnerable at greatest risk of these diseases. This mission has led Dr Villafana to lead the development of new vaccines and medicines, which will protect millions of people worldwide, as well as forming partnerships to design sustainable healthcare models to achieve equitable access to prevention and treatment.    Over her career, Dr. Villafana has developed vaccines and monoclonal antibodies targeting areas of distinct unmet medical need, including COVID-19, influenza, malaria, Ebola and RSV among others. Most notably, Dr Villafana led the development of nirsevimab, a novel long-acting RSV monoclonal antibody which is the first to offer protection against RSV disease to all infants entering their first RSV season. Nirsevimab is also the first antibody to be recommended for use similar to infant vaccines in broad populations. With numerous approvals across the globe, millions of infants have received nirsevimab and effectiveness data demonstrates significant public health impact. Dr. Villafana led the accelerated late-stage development of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine, Vaxzevria, working with multiple stakeholders including the University of Oxford and COVAX to enable broad vaccine access. This once-in-a-generation effort led to more than 3.1 billion doses being delivered to 180 markets, saving an estimated 6 million lives. The Oxford-AstraZeneca team was awarded the Copley Medal for this achievement.   To unlock the potential of medical innovation, Dr Villafana recognizes the need for resilient, sustainable health systems to enable broader access to treatment and preventative measures. From 2011-2013, Dr Villafana was seconded to the World Bank and served as the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations World Bank Fellow. In this role, Dr. Villafana supported the Global Medicines Regulatory Harmonization Initiative with a focus on strengthening regulatory systems in Africa and co-authored the Bank’s position on Non-Communicable Diseases for the 2011 UN High Level Meeting on NCDs.   Dr Villafana has significant experience in some of the most challenging healthcare settings and has seen first-hand the vital importance of the role of medical innovation in protecting public health. Dr. Villafana was Director of Portfolio Management at the PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative, where she worked on RTS,S malaria vaccine development in Tanzania and Gabon. From 2001-2006 Tonya led work to establish clinical sites to conduct the first HIV vaccine studies in Botswana, in collaboration with the US NIH HIV Vaccine Trials Network. While in Botswana, she served on the Botswana National HIV Vaccine Committee collaborating with local and international institutions including WHO, the Debswana Mining company and Botswana Police Service. Dr. Villafana has served on multiple scientific committees and advisory boards including the Malaria Clinical Trials Alliance, International Society of Vaccines and the NIH Integrated Preclinical/Clinical Vaccine Development Program.  She has worked closely on global health initiatives with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, PAHO, WHO, IFPMA, and UK Development Agency for International Development.  In 2021, she was appointed a Fellow of the International Society of Vaccines. In 2022, she was appointed an Independent Director of the Board of Ansa McAL, one of the largest conglomerates in the Caribbean. In 2023, she was named as one of Endpoints News Top 20 Women in Biopharma R&D. Dr Villafana received a PhD in immunology from Weill Cornell University Graduate School of Medical Sciences and an MPH from Harvard School of Public Health. Dr. Villafana has published in leading scientific journals including the NEJM, Lancet and Nature Medicine.