I am deeply committed to advancing science that protects lives. In VIDRU (Vaccines and Infectious Disease Research Unit), my vision is to champion bold science, nurture curiosity, and transform our collective energy into life-changing impact for patients worldwide.
Dr Sanjay Gurunathan
Senior Vice President, Global Head, Vaccines and Infectious Disease, Research & Development
Sanjay Gurunathan, MD, joined GSK as Senior Vice President and Global Head, Vaccines and Infectious Disease R&D in June 2025. He brings 25 years of global experience in infectious disease and vaccines R&D, with a focus on advancing public health through scientific innovation, strategic execution, and cross-regional collaboration. Sanjay leads large, international, multidisciplinary teams responsible for the end-to-end development of vaccines targeting high-burden infectious disease.
His achievements include contributions to over 20 global regulatory approvals, leadership of eight large-scale, multinational Phase III efficacy trials, and authorship of more than 50 scientific publications. Sanjay's expertise pairs scientific rigour with strategic focus, ensuring efficient execution of programmes that meet both public health and business objectives.
Sanjay has also led change initiatives, built and retained high-performing teams across multiple countries, and played key roles in due diligence for partnerships and acquisitions. His focus remains on being ambitious for patients — delivering solutions with lasting impact in the fight against infectious disease.
Sanjay's achievements
2025 – Present
Leads GSK's global Vaccines and Infectious Disease Research Unit (VIDRU), overseeing researchers worldwide with end-to-end accountability for the strategy and development of GSK's vaccine and infectious disease portfolio. He has refocused VIDRU's R&D strategy toward approaches with the highest probability of success and prioritised key disease areas. Under his leadership, GSK has advanced research programmes leveraging new technologies to deepen understanding of the biology and mechanisms linking infection to chronic disease. By broadening the impact of vaccines on human health, he is creating new opportunities across GSK's entire vaccines portfolio.
2014 – 2025
Leadership roles in biopharma
Held multiple leadership roles in clinical development and product development at Sanofi Vaccines. During this time, he led large, international, multidisciplinary teams through the end-to-end development of vaccines targeting high-burden infectious diseases, running large-scale multinational Phase III efficacy trials and securing successful global regulatory approvals. His expertise pairs scientific rigour with strategic focus, ensuring efficient execution of programmes that meet both public health needs and business objectives. He also led change initiatives, built and retained high-performing global teams across multiple countries, and played key roles in due diligence for partnerships and acquisitions.
2000 – 2014
Early career in the biopharmaceutical industry
Began his biopharmaceutical career at Sanofi Vaccines, joining from an academic setting and rising through positions of increasing seniority in clinical development. He guided a pipeline of late-stage assets through pivotal clinical studies and advanced numerous early-research programmes using new technologies to address significant unmet medical needs. He also played a leadership role in shaping several public-private partnership models and was the Sanofi lead on the first successful HIV vaccine study conducted in Thailand.
1990 – 2000
Education and academic career
Completed his medical residency in internal medicine at the State University of New York at Buffalo, followed by an infectious disease fellowship at the National Institutes of Health. As a Senior Staff Fellow at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), NIH, he conducted pioneering research on the role of cell-mediated immunity in controlling parasitic infections using DNA vaccines. He has since dedicated his research career to developing vaccines for infectious diseases, driven by an enduring passion for the field.
