1953
Dr Paul Janssen established Janssen Pharmaceutica, one of the first independent research laboratories in Beerse, Belgium.
1961
Janssen Pharmaceutica was acquired by Johnson & Johnson, bringing to the company Janssen’s strong capabilities in the growing field of pharmaceutical medicines. For Dr Paul Janssen, the global reach of Johnson & Johnson would enable him and his colleagues to help more patients.
1992
Janssen continued to grow into 34 foreign affiliates, with more than 20,000 employees worldwide.
2004
The Dr Paul Janssen Award for Biomedical research was launched, recognising transformational contributions to human health.
2014
Fortune magazine ranks Johnson & Johnson as the number one company in pharma on the World's Most Admired Companies list. An accolade maintained for seven consecutive years and still recognised in 2020.[2]
2017
Janssen’s areas of focus expanded with the acquisition of Actelion Pharmaceuticals, and the company began to build a portfolio in a sixth key therapy area, Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension. With that, Janssen moved towards serving more patients with serious illnesses and significant unmet medical needs.
2018
Johnson & Johnson, through the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies, earned a top spot on the 2018 Access to Medicine Index which ranks the 20 largest research-based pharmaceutical companies in the world on their efforts to make medicines, vaccines and diagnostics more accessible in low- and middle-income countries.[3]
2019
To help combat the world's second worst outbreak of Ebola on record, the company committed to donate up to 500,000 doses of an investigational vaccine regimen to the Democratic Republic of the Congo.[4] Since then, over 114,000 people have received the Ebola vaccine through clinical studies and vaccination initiatives, including more than 90,000 people in the DRC and Rwanda during the 2018–20 outbreak.[5]
2020
Janssen’s Ebola vaccine regimen became the company’s first vaccine to be approved by the European Commission.[6] In addition, Janssen announced the selection of a lead COVID-19 vaccine candidate.[7] The expansion of the partnership between Janssen and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), aims to address the goal of providing global supply of more than one billion doses of a COVID-19 vaccine.[8] For the latest news, visit our COVID-19 section.
DR Paul Janssen Award
Dr Paul passed away in 2003. An exceptionally gifted and passionate scientist, he is considered to be one of the most important medical researchers of all time, someone who revolutionised modern medicine and inspired a new generation of researchers.
By the end of his life he had over 100 patents to his name, and received 22 honorary doctorates and five honorary professorships.[9]
The Dr Paul Janssen Award for Biomedical research was set up in his honour in 2004.
Each year it’s awarded to the most passionate and creative scientist or group of scientists in basic or clinical research, whose achievements have made or have strong potential to make a measurable impact on human health.
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References
[1]Pharmaceutical technology. Top ten pharma companies in 2020. Available: https://www.pharmaceutical-technology.com/features/top-ten-pharma-compan.... Accessed: December 2020.
[2]Fortune. World's most admired companies. Available: https://fortune.com/worlds-most-admired-companies/2020/search/. Accessed: December 2020.
[3]Access to Medicine Foundation. Access to Medicine Index 2018. Available at: https://accesstomedicinefoundation.org/media/uploads/downloads/5e27136ad.... Accessed: November 2020.
[4] Johnson & Johnson. Johnson & Johnson Announces Donation of up to 500,000 Regimens of Janssen’s Investigational Ebola Vaccine to Support Outbreak Response in Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Available at: https://www.jnj.com/johnson-johnson-announces-donation-of-up-to-500-000-.... Accessed: November 2020.
[5] J Custers et al. Vaccines based on replication incompetent Ad26 viral vectors: Standardized template with key considerations for a risk/benefit assessment. Vaccine. 2020. doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.2020.09.018
[6] Johnson & Johnson press release. Johnson & Johnson Announces European Commission Approval for Janssen’s Preventive Ebola Vaccine. Available: https://www.jnj.com/johnson-johnson-announces-european-commission-approv.... Accessed: December 2020.
[7]Johnson & Johnson. Johnson & Johnson Announces a Lead Vaccine Candidate for COVID-19; Landmark New Partnership with U.S. Department of Health & Human Services; and Commitment to Supply One Billion Vaccines Worldwide for Emergency Pandemic Use. Available at: https://www.jnj.com/johnson-johnson-announces-a-lead-vaccine-candidate-f.... Accessed: December 2020.
[8] Johnson & Johnson. Johnson & Johnson Announces a Lead Vaccine Candidate for COVID-19; Landmark New Partnership with U.S. Department of Health & Human Services; and Commitment to Supply One Billion Vaccines Worldwide for Emergency Pandemic Use. Available at: https://www.jnj.com/johnson-johnson-announces-a-lead-vaccine-candidate-f.... Accessed November 2020
[9] Paul Janssen Award. A Lasting, Far Reaching Legacy. Available at: http://www.pauljanssenaward.com/legacy. Accessed November 2020.