Innovative Adjuvants for Advancing Global Health 

Peter Tygesen is Business Development Director, Vaccine Adjuvants at SPI Pharma. An organic chemist by training, he has spent more than 30 years in the pharmaceutical industry, with over a decade focused on vaccine adjuvant innovation. Before joining SPI Pharma in May 2025, Peter led Brenntag Biosector (later Croda Denmark), a global supplier of aluminium and saponin-based adjuvants, and then served as Managing Director for Vaccine Adjuvant Systems at Croda Pharma. Across these roles he has helped shape the modern adjuvant landscape, supporting the development of safe, effective and more accessible vaccines worldwide.

Juhienah Khalaf, Director of Chemistry at Inimmune Corporation, specializes in building adjuvant portfolios and has designed and developed TLR4 and TLR7/8 agonists for use as vaccine adjuvants. Drawing on her strong background in medicinal and organic chemistry, she has advanced adjuvant candidates in a chemistry, manufacturing, and controls (CMC) setting and collaborated with formulation and immunology teams to characterize their properties and immune profiles. Her research focuses on therapeutic molecules that modulate immune responses and combat infectious diseases. Her work encompasses the development of TLR4 and TLR7/8 agonists and antagonists as small-molecule drugs and immunotherapies. These efforts have contributed to novel adjuvant systems and targeted therapies designed to address critical treatment challenges and broaden access to innovative vaccine adjuvants.