Pfizer's Lynne Handanyan Is Industry Leadership Award Recipient

This fall, ChEnected is introducing readers to the recipients of AIChE’s 2020 Institute and Board of Directors’ Awards. These are AIChE’s highest honors. Recipients are nominated by the chemical engineering community and voted on by the members of AIChE’s volunteer-led Awards Committee. These awards recognize outstanding achievements and world-class contributions across a spectrum of chemical engineering endeavors. 

The Industry Leadership Award

The Industry Leadership Award is presented to individuals or teams working in industries served by chemical engineers, and recognizes accomplishments in management; sales and marketing; public, community, and industrial relations; and public service. 

The recipient of AIChE’s 2020 Industry Leadership Award is Lynne A. Handanyan, Vice President of Global Chemical Research and Development at Pfizer. 

Handanyan is being recognized for “outstanding leadership in pharmaceutical development and for delivery of all Pfizer chemical processes for clinical development and commercial implementation, making a substantial difference in patients’ lives.”

Handanyan's work

After studying chemical engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), Lynne Handanyan joined Pfizer’s Specialty Chemicals Division with responsibility for the scale-up and manufacture of chemicals and pharmaceuticals, including the beta-lactamase inhibitor in Unasyn and partnering with R&D to develop the antibiotic Zithromax. Handanyan joined Pfizer’s Central Research division in 1992 as a development scientist responsible for active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) process development for a variety of projects.

She assumed roles of increasing responsibility within Pharm Sci’s Chemical Research and Development department and has held her current role at Pfizer since 2008. Under her leadership, her department has contributed to the development and commercialization of products, including Chantix, Xalcori, Steglatro, Vyndaqel, Lorbrena, Ibrance, Daurismo, and Xeljanz. In 2014, Handanyan was selected as a Women of Innovation by the Connecticut Technology Council. She is also a member of the WPI Women’s Impact Network and is passionate about mentoring women to achieve their professional aspirations.

Stop back for more entries in our series of 2020 Institute and Board of Directors’ Award recipients, and catch up on any previous posts in the series you've missed.