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‘We couldn't really celebrate our vaccine being approved, but we were over the moon’

On 11 March, pharmaceutical company Janssen received approval to launch its corona vaccine on the European market. This made Janssen the fourth company to be given the green light by the European Medicines Agency. As Lead of the Janssen Campus in the Netherlands, Biology alumnus Bart van Zijll Langhout was closely involved in the successful development of the vaccine.

First of all I’m curious: what exactly does the job of Lead of the Janssen Campus involve?

‘Janssen is made up of three different companies - Janssen Vaccines, Janssen Biologics and Janssen-Cilag - and they each work in a different field. My job is to strengthen the collaboration between these three parties, and to see that the company presents a united front to the outside world. On behalf of Janssen, I also engage in the public debate on the Netherlands as a knowledge country. That covers such issues as: how do we create a fertile ecosystem for biotech companies, how can we make sure we have enough talented and highly educated staff, and how can we protect our intellectual property even better? 

It must have been an extremely tough year for you. As soon as the coronacrisis broke out, the whole world was anxiously looking for the first vaccines, which put enormous pressure on pharmaceutical companies. What was that like for you?

‘It certainly was very intense. I head up crisis management for the Dutch branch of the company [Janssen is part of the international Johnson & Johnson group, Ed.]. Obviously we immediately had everyone work from home who didn’t absolutely have to be in the office. But we’re also a producer of life-saving medicines, so we had to do everything possible to keep our labs and production locations open. It was part of my job to make sure that that could be done safely. We developed guidelines and protocols, and then shared then with other companies on the Leiden Bio Science Park. It’s a good way to learn from one another.’  

Bart van Zijll Langhout

Who is Bart van Zijll Langhout?

  • Since January 2020: Chair of the Leiden Bio Science Park Foundation
  • Since 2018: Board Member of the South Holland Economic Board
  • Since 1988: Various positions within Janssen, including Director of Janssen-Cilag Benelux, Director of Crucell, Vice-President of Janssen Mid-Sized Markets and since 2018 head of Janssen Campus The Netherlands
  • 1984–1988: PhD candidate in Genetics, Leiden. University PhD dissertation: Enzyme Distribution Patterns in Drosophila (1991)
  • 1977–1984: Student of Biology, Leiden University

In an earlier interview I read that people at Janssen worked ‘day and night’ to have the vaccination ready as quickly as possible. How literally should we take that?   

‘Very literally. It’s a huge job to develop a vaccine, particularly under time pressure. Processes that normally take years have to be compressed into months. That’s only possible if you carry out some parts of the process in parallel rather than successively. And yes, it takes a lot of extra manpower, and there are times when it means working through the night. On top of that, we needed to stay in constant touch with our American colleagues, so the time difference also played a role.’ 

Studies have shown that, from two weeks after being vaccinated, the vaccine gives people aged 18 and older 67% protection against becoming ill if they contract coronavirus. How did you celebrate getting EMA approval?

‘We were over the moon, but unfortunately there was no time to party. We had a very ambitious goal: we wanted a vaccine that would give protection after only one jab, and that could be stored at fridge temperature - because we knew it would have huge benefits in combatting a global pandemic. It’s fantastic that we succeeded. You have to bear in mind, though, that this is just one step in a longer process, because now the vaccine has to be produced and distributed on a huge scale. Clinical studies are also being carried out, for example, on whether a second jab will increase protection further, or whether our vaccine also protects young people and how effective it is against mutations in the virus.’

There is a lot of proud talk in many media about ‘the Leiden vaccine’. Do you also feel some local pride or do you see yourself more as a small cog in a large multinational wheel?

‘I am definitely very proud of Leiden! An important part of the development took place here, and we work closely with other Leiden organisations such as the LUMC and the Centre for Human Drug Research. Part of the technology behind the vaccine has also come from Leiden University; our vaccine uses a cell line, for example, that was developed at the University.’

It’s remarkable that there are so many high-level pharmaceutical companies on the Leiden Bio Science Park. What is it about Leiden that attracts these kinds of companies?

‘The Leiden Bio Science Park is a very attractive location for biotech companies to establish themselves, because there are already so many similar companies here. Not only that, you also have a university, the LUMC and a University of Applied Sciences close by. As little as 35 years ago there was no business park, but there was a strong vision. The University and the Leiden and Oegstgeest municipalities made a conscious choice for the region to specialise in the biomedical field. At the time, that took some guts, but today you can see very clearly what the benefits are. Now we want to make the step from a bio science park to an innovation district where we work more closely together and foster stronger interaction between the different companies and organisations. As chair of the Leiden Bio Science Park Foundation, I want to play a part in achieving that.’

A person is administered a dose of the Janssen vaccine

You could even be taken as a ‘Leiden product’ yourself. You studied Biology at Leiden University and also obtained your PhD there. What was that time like for you?  

‘It was fantastic. I learned a lot and made friends for life. I worked for biochemist Rob Schilperoort, who was later to become the ‘godfather’ of the Leiden Bio Science Park. It was his mission to bring fundamental research and valorisation closer together. At a certain point I moved over to the business sector. I wanted to work on developing medicines and making them available because I felt that was where we could make the biggest difference for patients.’

Do universities do enough in terms of valorisation, converting new knowledge into a real contribution to society?

‘A lot of attention is paid to valorisation, but still more could be done, especially if you compare the situation here with the United States. In the Netherlands, universities focus largely on publications in leading journals, numbers of citations and the quality of education, but less attention is paid to the numbers of patents and spin-offs. On the Bio Science Park we’re trying to close that gap, with Unlock, for example, an incubator for start-ups in the health sector.’

How has studying Biology helped you in your current job?

‘I learned an awful lot from the programme’s broad scientific basis. As Campus Lead and a member of staff of a pharmaceutical company, it’s very important for me to have that kind of background so that I can explain what we as a company are doing and that our main drivers are innovation and science.’ 

Just at the point when the vaccines were ready, there was also more resistance to them. That must have been frustrating: it meant that you had been working day and night on a solution and that ultimately some people might refuse to be vaccinated.  

‘At Janssen we believe unconditionally in the huge contribution that vaccines make to disease prevention. After clean drinking water and good hygiene, there is nothing else in the world that has had – and is still having - such a major impact on life expectancy throughout the globe. Oddly enough, the success of all these vaccines is probably also a pitfall: fatal infectious diseases have become so rare in the Netherlands that people are no longer aware of how serious these diseases can be. I’m convinced of the enormous value of vaccinations, but at the same time I accept that ultimately everyone has to be able to decide for themselves whether or not to be vaccinated. What’s important is that they make that decision on the basis of good and balanced information. At the moment there are a lot of misleading stories going the rounds, so we need to keep on making time to provide the public with reliable information.’   

Bart van Zijll Langhout during his PhD defense in 1991.

Just at the point when the vaccines were ready, there was also more resistance to them. That must have been frustrating: it meant that you had been working day and night on a solution and that ultimately some people might refuse to be vaccinated.  

‘At Janssen we believe unconditionally in the huge contribution that vaccines make to disease prevention. After clean drinking water and good hygiene, there is nothing else in the world that has had – and is still having - such a major impact on life expectancy throughout the globe. Oddly enough, the success of all these vaccines is probably also a pitfall: fatal infectious diseases have become so rare in the Netherlands that people are no longer aware of how serious these diseases can be. I’m convinced of the enormous value of vaccinations, but at the same time I accept that ultimately everyone has to be able to decide for themselves whether or not to be vaccinated. What’s important is that they make that decision on the basis of good and balanced information. At the moment there are a lot of misleading stories going the rounds, so we need to keep on making time to provide the public with reliable information.’   

How the Janssen vaccine works

Step 1:

A common cold virus (adenovirus) that can no longer reproduce is used as a vector (carrier) of the genetic code of an antigen. Antigens are foreign substances that generate an immune response in the body. They mimic the immune response to the virus, without causing any serious illness.  

Step 2:

When the human body detects the presence of an antigen, it triggers an immune response against it. There are two parts to this immune response: the body produces antibodies, and immune cells multiply.

Step 3:

If, at some point in the future, the real pathogen enters the body, the body will be able to react faster and more effectively. The immune system has a kind of memory, so it can produce the necessary immune cells and antibodies very rapidly. This prevents the pathogen from causing illness.

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