Increasingly, collaborative projects also involve European universities. Indeed, some academic institutions now approach pharmaceutical companies in the effort to persuade them to undertake joint research. As the subject has grown in importance, however, so has the supply of trained immunologists from universities. European pharmas and biotechnology companies often fill their senior positions by recruiting European-born immunologists who have moved to the United States to gain experience in large laboratories. Ironically, the growth in European immunology is beginning to make that career path unnecessary.
Immunologists can now obtain adequate experience on home territory.
Incorporated in 1993, Peptide Therapeutics originally focused on immunotherapy. After it went public in 1995, the company began to work on vaccines as well. It recently acquired OraVax, a Cambridge, Massachusetts company that specializes in vaccines and antibody products. Both Peptide's core pursuits demand expertise in immunology. We're interviewing for our vaccine section.