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10/26/2016 08:30 AMOn Nov. 2, Manon Cox will be inducted into the Connecticut Women’s Hall of Fame during the 23rd annual induction ceremony and celebration, “Women’s Wellness: Awareness, Advocacy & Action. Manon is the president and CEO of Protein Sciences Corporation and an internationally recognized expert in innovative vaccines to treat influenza and other illnesses.
“It’s a nice honor and a nice group of people that are included so I’m looking forward to it,” says Manon. “There are a lot of very impressive ladies they’ll be honoring so I’m excited about that.”
In addition Manon, honorees also include Rebecca Lobo, Jane Pauley, and Joyce Yerwood, M.D. Manon is originally from Holland, where she worked for the country’s largest biotech company, helping to develop a detergent enzyme used in many leading laundry detergents.
Manon, who holds a Ph.D. from the University of Wageningen, an MBA from the University of Nijenrode, and a doctorandus degree in molecular biology, genetics, and biochemistry from the University of Nijmegen—decided to pursue a master’s degree in the United States at the University of Rochester.
In 1998, she was hired at Protein Sciences Corporation, which is based out of Maryland but has an office in Meriden, and Manon moved to East Haven. Five years later, she was named chief operating officer before becoming president and CEO in 2010.
Since joining the company, Manon and her team have been working on a flu vaccine called Flublok. According to Flublok.com, “Flublok does not use the influenza virus or eggs anywhere in its production process. By using modern technology, Flublok is highly pure and the only flu vaccine manufactured without any of the following: eggs, preservatives such as thimerosal, live or inactivated influenza virus, latex, formaldehyde, gelatin, antibiotics,[or] gluten.” The FDA approved Flublok in 2013.
“The FDA called it revolutionary,” says Manon. “Once people learn about it, they realize they have a choice in influenza vaccines and Flublok not only works better but has less undesirable side effects.”
Manon’s advanced degrees in the scientific field and related work experience made her question techniques being used in developing vaccines, noting that many techniques companies were using dated back to research by Marie Curie’s time in the early 1900s.
“Many of the advancements in techniques over the past four decades have taken a very long time to enter the field of vaccines,” says Manon. “Innovation in the field of vaccines is extremely important. This is simply applying what was known to a new field.”
Manon noted that the innovation “had to come” from a small company and when she was hired at Protein Sciences Corporation, there were just 30 people.
Now, nearly two decades later, Manon is the second-longest serving employee and the company has about 120 employees. While the team has worked hard to develop the vaccine, the U.S. government has helped.
In 2009, the company received a $150 million contract to support the growth of the company, helping bring Flublok to the approval stage with the FDA. The company then received a $610 million grant to continue work on vaccines for a variety of outbreaks.
“The U.S. government recognized that our technology would be the only technology that could provide a vaccine in a timely manner if there was some kind of an outbreak or pandemic,” says Manon. “We are working on a number of solutions, but hopefully we will never need to use them.”
As the head of Protein Sciences Corporation, Manon spend much of her time working on the commercialization of Flublok as well as working on new projects with her team. She also travels a lot, most recently going to Mexico where Flublok was just launched.
When she is not working, Manon enjoys her time in East Haven as she loves the shoreline. She also likes to spend time outdoors, reading, and running, having run the Fall Fest 5K and the New Haven Road Race half-marathon in September. She also travels back to her home she still keeps in Holland.
“My family is there and a lot of connections and friends,” says Manon. “The work climate and work opportunities in the U.S. are terrific and different and better than in Holland, but the appreciation of free time and quality of life, to a certain extent, might be better in Europe. Here we work all the time, but it’s hard to judge because I’m not sure what it would be like in a similar role in Holland.”
While Manon keeps her option to return to Holland open, she is enjoying making a difference through her work in the United States. After bringing the detergent enzyme and Flublok to the market, she is hoping to add even more products to her résumé.
“I’m extraordinarily proud as scientist to bring two products to the market, but I invested a lot of time in that,” says Manon. “I spent 11 years at my first company and 19 years here. Many people think once they’re done with their study, they’re done, but they need to invest time to build their network and build their team to make things happen.”