Katie Shannon

Senior Director of Engineering,
Viral Vector Services,
Cambridge, MA

Katie Shannon

Senior Director of Engineering,
Viral Vector Services,
Cambridge, MA

 

How viral vector technology is rapidly scaling up to enable one miracle after another.

The promise of viral vectors has been pursued for over two decades. But in the last few years, this transcendent technology that’s targeting over 200 diseases has finally started to create real treatments and possible cures. This sudden momentum has put Katie and her team to the test. With major capital investments, they’ve built out Thermo Fisher’s Viral Vector capacity in just under 30 months, across three locations. Katie has had to customize these locations to the new and innovative technology, and constantly shifting demands. As she says, “we’ve literally had to move walls while we’re in the middle of building them.” But nothing stops her and her team. Not even 50 tons of boulders discovered beneath a construction site. In spite of the obstacles, she and her team build for maximum flexibility, even with the demands of the most precise science on the line. With three viral vector manufacturing sites and more on the horizon, engineers like Katie and her team are paving the way for pharma and biotech companies to bring new treatments to market, and potentially save millions of lives.