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Pfizer Medical, Scientific & Patient Education Grant Transparency

Pfizer partners with many medical, scientific, patient and civic organizations to support their programs and activities, such as health education and scientific research. This support takes many forms, including grants, charitable contributions and partnerships for efforts that strengthen communities, and work toward a healthier world. Working with these organizations allows Pfizer to better understand the needs of the patients who take our medicines, while helping these medical, scientific and patient organizations inform and address the needs of those they serve.

Pfizer is committed to the principle of transparency — the disclosure of activities reflecting participation in efforts of public interest. These include such areas as funding for educational activities, the status of Pfizer's U.S. pharmaceutical post-marketing commitments, Pfizer's pipeline of experimental medicines, the registration and reporting of results of clinical trials, political contributions in the U.S. and payments to U.S. health care professionals. 

The information reported here includes grants to support independent medical education, support for fellowship, scholarship and visiting professorship programs, grants to patient organizations, medical and scientific associations, and academic or other medical centers, charitable contributions, healthcare-related support to civic organizations and healthcare-related non-promotional sponsorships to organizations.

For descriptions of types of support, please view funding descriptions further down this page.

For EFPIA Patient Organization Reporting, please click here.

In addition, funding activities made by the Pfizer Foundation are aggregated and reported in an annual IRS 990 filing. 

Pfizer U.S. medical, scientific and patient education grants, charitable contributions and other healthcare-related funding requests are updated on a quarterly basis. Support provided beginning in 2008 is listed here:

Pfizer maintains a standard of ethical business conduct precluding any inappropriate influence on the content of funded programs.

Wyeth Pharmaceuticals Grants and Donations Report

In October, 2009, Pfizer acquired Wyeth Pharmaceuticals — an organization with a long tradition of supporting health-related and community organizations including professional health care associations, patient advocacy groups, medical schools, hospitals and medical societies. The following reports list grants provided in 2008 and 2009 by the Wyeth U.S. Pharmaceuticals Division, specifically to those organizations and entities headquartered in the U.S. or Puerto Rico.

Grant information in each report is organized in alphabetical order by the name of the organization receiving funding, the name/title of the grant/donation, and the dollar amount.

Healthcare Progress: Partnership, Grants & Charitable Reporting

In 2008, Pfizer began reporting grants and charitable contributions provided to medical, scientific and patient organizations in the US. This reflects our commitment to increasing transparency around the support Pfizer provides to organizations that work to improve the health of patients and advance science. This support is one way we contribute to the improvement of patients' lives and the advancement of scientific research, in conjunction with our core business of developing innovative medicines. In 2009, Pfizer began disclosing healthcare related support to civic organizations. In 2010, Pfizer's report included legacy Wyeth programs. In 2011, Pfizer began disclosing healthcare related collaborations and coalitions. In 2016, Pfizer began disclosing healthcare-related non-promotional sponsorships provided to organizations.

Prior to 2008, we highlighted a limited number of grants or charitable contributions in company press releases. As interest in more information across the health care spectrum has grown, public reporting became a natural next step.

To that end, Pfizer's support of these organizations and activities is reported on Pfizer.com. This reporting is a condition of accepting such grants and charitable contributions. Details disclosed include the recipient organization's name, a brief description of the program for which the grant or charitable contribution was given, and the amount of the funding. Pfizer may update the quarterly reports if additional relevant information becomes available.

Funding Types and Recipient Organizations

Funding Type

Charitable Contributions – Donations to 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organizations, used to support patient education and advocacy, improvements in patient care or general operating support, among other things.

Fellowships – Support provided to US medical schools, teaching hospitals and other institutions intended to aid junior faculty and talented researchers early in their careers.

Independent Grants for Learning & Change (IGL&C) – Medical education grants from the office of IGL&C in support of healthcare quality improvement initiatives and independent education for healthcare professionals (HCPs), including but not limited to, continuing medical education (CME).

Non-Medical Education Grants – Funding to medical, scientific and patient organizations for a variety of non-medical education purposes, such as general operating support and support of meetings.

Scholarships – Funding to augment specialty training and encourage development of senior faculty scientists, similar to fellowships.

Visiting Professorships – Funding that enables schools and teaching hospitals to recruit an expert of their choice to lead a 3-day information exchange on pre-determined topics with students, faculty, nurses and others.

Funding Requests for Healthcare Activities – Funding in support of a wide array of initiatives and charitable causes including patient advocacy and education.

Collaborations – Funding a healthcare related activity or project in which Pfizer and one or more Organizations work as equal partners on the design, development and implementation of the project with the purpose of advancing specified shared objectives. In addition to funding and partnering on the project, Pfizer also receives the right to use the output/materials created.

Sponsorships – Funding opportunities provided to organizations that are healthcare-related and non-promotional in nature.

Recipient Type

Academic Medical Centers – Accredited medical schools or academic hospitals in which a majority of the physicians are faculty members; may include other health professional schools, such as public health, nursing, or graduate schools in the life sciences.

Other Medical Centers – A single entity or loose conglomerate not directly affiliated with a medical school or university, usually focused on patient care and residency training.

Medical Associations – Professional membership organizations for physicians.

Professional Associations – Professional membership organizations for health care professionals such as nurses, nurse practitioners, physician assistants and pharmacists.

Patient Organizations – Non-profit organizations that represent the interests of patients by providing information and services, support for increased medical research, and/or access to health care.

Scientific Associations – Organizations that exist to promote an academic or scientific discipline through activities including regular meetings or conferences for the presentation and discussion of new research results, and publishing or sponsoring academic journals.

Civic Organizations – Non-profit organizations that promote social welfare.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Pfizer is proud of its longstanding support for organizations that share its commitment to improving public health. Pfizer also discloses information on its pipeline of experimental medicines, clinical trials, post marketing commitments, political contributions and payments to US health care professionals. We are actively looking for more ways to better communicate with the public about how we operate, consistent with our statement on transparency in grants.

  • On March 31st, 2010, Pfizer disclosed payments to recipients, whose aggregate annual payments exceeded $500 during the calendar year, including the value of non-monetary items, such as meals, exceeding $25 in value. The information includes payments made beginning July 1, 2009 through December 31, 2009.

    On March 31st, 2011, Pfizer disclosed a full year of data for 2010. All payments and exchanges of value are included for recipients having received in aggregate more than $100 for the year. For recipients who received $100 or less during the year, only transactions $10 or more are disclosed.

    The following information is disclosed:

    Payments to:

    • All practicing HCPs (defined as Health Care Professionals who can prescribe medicines)
    • Major institutions for ongoing clinical trials
    • All principal investigators and other entities for Phase I-IV clinical trials beginning after July 1, 2009

    Payments for:

    • Development, research and commercial consulting
    • Promotional speaking
    • Phase I-IV clinical trials
    • Investigator-initiated research
    • Meals, reimbursable travel expenses, educational materials and other non-educational items allowed by local market guidelines and Pfizer policy

    Pfizer began disclosing on a quarterly basis during 2011.

  • The data posted on this web page reflects Pfizer's best effort to provide quarterly reports of grants and charitable contributions made by Pfizer to US patient, scientific and medical organizations, beginning in 2008. Funding reported here includes payments related to human medical care in the form of medical education grants, fellowship, scholarship and visiting professorship support for institutions and healthcare related partnerships, grants to patient organizations, medical and scientific associations, and academic or other medical centers, and charitable contributions. In 2009, Pfizer began disclosing healthcare related support to civic organizations.

    In 2011, Pfizer began disclosing healthcare related collaborations and coalitions. In 2016, Pfizer began disclosing healthcare-related non-promotional sponsorships provided to organizations.

    For descriptions of these funding types, please visit our descriptions section. Reported information includes the name of the recipient organization, a brief description of the funded activity, and the amount of funding provided. Pfizer may update the quarterly reports if additional relevant information becomes available.

  • Yes. Beginning in 2007, Pfizer has informed organizations that received funding of our plans to publicly disclose Pfizer's support. The response has been overwhelmingly positive.

  • Pfizer is currently working with external stakeholders globally to determine the appropriate method and scope of disclosure worldwide. Because laws and rules vary from country to country, reporting will vary. In the UK, for example, the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry requires disclosure of grants to patient organizations. Pfizer goes beyond this requirement and describes the nature of Pfizer's relationship with these groups.

  • Pfizer supports the efforts of independent organizations in their mission to improve patient care through quality improvement initiatives as well as continuing education for healthcare professionals. Requests to support such programs are submitted through our website and managed by the Pfizer Medical organization. For those grant requests submitted in response to a request for proposal (RFP), external review panels (ERP) are responsible for the review and decision-making. ERPs consist of professionals from the medical and education communities with advanced degrees and expertise in a particular clinical area, or specific needs of a geographic region/learner groups, or expertise in CME, CE, continuing professional development (CPD) or Quality Improvement. Pfizer also supports live activities at national conferences and congresses; such grant requests from accredited providers are not subject to ERP review but must still be in compliance with all external guidelines and Pfizer policies.

  • No. Funding of grants and charitable contributions may fluctuate throughout the year, following the pattern of requests for such funding from medical, scientific and patient organizations.

  • Data regarding charitable contributions made through the Pfizer Foundation are available beginning with 2001 on the website www.foundationcenter.org. For all other types of grants and charitable contributions, we began this disclosure with the 2008 calendar year to allow us to notify current and prospective grant recipients of our transparency initiative prior to disclosure. We also sought to solicit and incorporate the views of these organizations into the disclosure process, which we have done.

  • For information about submitting requests for medical education grants, visit http://www.pfizer.com/independentgrants. For information about applying for health care charitable contributions, visit www.pfizerhealthcharitables.com. For information about applying for fellowships and scholarships, visit www.promisingminds.com. For information on the broad range of programs Pfizer supports, visit www.pfizer.com/responsibility.

  • Yes. Many of the grants provided by Pfizer's Medical Education Group are used to support CME programs. During 2008, Pfizer discontinued the practice of directly funding CME programs provided by medical education and communication companies, but honored existing commitments. In October, 2009, Pfizer acquired Wyeth Pharmaceuticals and will honor any existing commitments with medical education and communication companies and disclose the programs in our report for the remainder of 2010. For more information about Pfizer's ongoing commitment to CME, visit http://www.pfizer.com/independentgrants.

  • Pfizer respects the integrity of the medical, scientific and patient organizations with whom we partner. As such, we strive to achieve the highest level of ethical business conduct in our partnership grants and charitable contributions. Funding support to US-based medical, scientific and patient organizations is in no way intended to influence or reward the recipient for present, past, or future use or support of Pfizer medicines, or to gain access for promotion purposes, or to influence the outcome of a clinical trial. In addition, none of these payments is given to reward recipient organizations for influencing or attempting to influence specific legislation, regulation or governmental health care policies, nor are these payments given on behalf of government officials or elected officials. This support is one way we contribute to the improvement of patients' lives and the advancement of scientific research, in conjunction with our core business of developing innovative medicines.

  • The data posted on this web page reflects Pfizer's best effort to disclose all grants and charitable contributions made by Pfizer to US patient, scientific and medical organizations, beginning in 2008. In 2009, Pfizer has begun disclosing other funding requests for healthcare related support to civic organizations. Gifts made by the Pfizer Foundation of every amount to all recipients are reported on an annual basis, and can be found at www.foundationcenter.org. Business expenses such as scientific congress exhibit fees and membership dues to medical associations, which provide some material value to Pfizer, are not included. Charitable contributions to cultural institutions and non healthcare related contributions to civic organizations and some aid to disaster-relief groups are outside the scope of this web page, though such funding by the Pfizer Foundation can be found in the Pfizer Foundation annual giving report at www.foundationcenter.org.

EFPIA Patient Organization Reporting

Patient organisations aim to improve the lives of people with a particular disease or medical condition. Working with patient organizations allows us to support their activities, where appropriate, and to better understand patients’ unmet needs and how those needs can best be met. By obtaining patient insights, we gain a better knowledge of the burden of disease, which informs our efforts to develop medicines and support programs for the patient community.

In providing funding for or working with patient organisations, Pfizer’s guiding principles are independence and transparency. Relationships with patient organisations are both valuable and essential, and by ensuring these organisations maintain their independence and that our relationships are transparent, we can be confident and proud of the relationships we have developed. Sharing information about these relationships in a straightforward and open way will, we hope, help explain the critical value these relationships bring to patient management.

We believe that transparency is essential to building and maintaining confidence in Pfizer and in our medicines and strongly support the work being done by The European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA) to improve transparency across the pharmaceutical industry.

Methodology Note on EFPIA Patient Organisation Reporting

Additional Resources

View the 2022 US Medical, Scientific and Patient Organizations Grants Report