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Read our latest stories on the people and scientific innovations making a difference in patients’ lives.
Science & Innovation
Prevention is the Best Medicine
It wasn’t that long ago that a diagnosis of polio was considered a death sentence. Thanks to the work of pioneering researchers, polio and other diseases like diphtheria, measles, mumps, and rubella are now preventable through vaccinations. Bill Gruber works for a global team at Pfizer charged with vaccine clinical research and development. His passion for his work came when he lost a young patient to meningitis. “There has got to be a better way,” he thought. Now, he’s a part of a team...
All Hands on Deck as Scientists Revive SARS Protease Inhibitor to Attempt to Fight COVID-19
As scientists around the globe race to find ways to treat COVID-19, the fastest approach to finding a treatment may be to repurpose existing drugs in the hopes of avoiding having to start from “square one” on the drug development pathway. There are dozens of existing drugs currently being evaluated for treating COVID-19 and its symptoms, ranging from a failed Ebola treatment to arthritis and diabetes medications. In addition to evaluating its current portfolio of therapeutics for a compound...
Living & Wellbeing
Handwashing Tips for People with Eczema and Other Skin Conditions
If you are one of the 31.6 million people in the United States living with some form of eczema, continual handwashing and sanitizing to avoid spreading illness this season might be a source of added stress and anxiety, as this can dry out your skin and cause eczema to flare. Sticking to a three-step routine can help – wash, dry, moisturize. “Regular handwashing is important to remove dirt or soil and potentially contagious germs from your skin. For patients with eczema, it’s particularly...
Real People
New Podcast, ‘The Antigen,’ Takes a Deep Dive into the Story of Vaccines
When we decided to create a podcast about vaccines, Yasmeen Agosti, MD was a natural choice to host . For many years, vaccines have been an enormous part of Agosti’s life, first as a pediatrician, now as the global medical affairs lead for viral vaccines at Pfizer. In our new audio series, called “The Antigen,” she delves into in the fascinating world of immunization, exploring the science and story behind vaccines, the rise of the anti-vaccination movement and the many social, cultural and...
How Next-Generation Sequencing Is Helping to Build Better Vaccines
If you’ve ever tried an at-home genetic testing kit, you’re familiar with whole-genome sequencing, the technology that allows people to quickly and easily map their DNA. This same technology is now being used to track the genomes of potentially deadly microbes. During global disease outbreaks, scientists have long used genotyping tools to understand pathogens and track genetic changes. But in recent years, as the sequencing technology has become faster and more affordable, researchers are...
Real People
The People Behind Your Vaccine
Vaccines have played an important role in significantly reducing the global burden of several serious infectious diseases. In fact, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), vaccination is one of the most successful and cost-effective public health interventions available.1 Vaccinations are a medical marvel, but have you stopped to think that behind every syringe is a steadfast, dedicated team—a collective, synchronized effort of people, processes, and resources—all working towards a...
Next-Gen Scientific Changemakers: An Infectious Disease Specialist on a Mission to Develop Vaccines
Soldiers, firefighters and police officers likely come to mind when you think of professions that require a good amount of courage. But Iona Munjal, a physician and pediatric infectious disease specialist who helps design and oversee vaccine clinical trials for Pfizer, argues scientists should be counted among this group, too. “You have to be brave in research,” she says. “When you’re out there pushing the envelope, you have to expect to fail more times than you succeed — that’s an essential...
A Superbug Problem: When Routine Surgeries Turn Dangerous
You go in for an elective knee replacement surgery, hoping to be able to climb the stairs again without pain, and end up with more than you bargained for: a potentially life-threatening bacterial infection caused by Staphylococcus aureus (also referred to as S. aureus, Staphylococcus, or staph infection.) S. aureus is a common bacterium found on the skin and in the nose that is usually harmless. This all changes if it enters the body through cuts and grazes. To compound this in recent years...
Scientist Embraces the ‘Ick’ Factor to Develop a New Tool Against a Dangerous Pathogen
Developing a vaccine to prevent the devastating disease caused by Clostridium difficile requires a reliable and sensitive test to diagnose the dangerous disease causing toxins produced by C. diff — and it also required scientists to figure out how to detect the toxins in stool samples. When scientist Arik Elfassy talks to his kids about his job, he purposely omits one important detail: When he’s collecting data, he spends much of his day working with human stool samples. And not just a...
Brenda Carrillo-Conde: Unlocking the Power of Connections
Brenda Carrillo-Conde has a talent for conjugation: making connections for the greater good — inside the lab and out. As a principal scientist with Pfizer’s Conjugation and Polytide Process Development Group in St. Louis, Missouri, she spends her workdays using chemical conjugation to improve the effectiveness of vaccines and medicines. In the lab, conjugation is a process that connects molecules together by a system of strong bonds and has a wide-range of real-world applications. “It...
The Action-Packed Search for Stability: A Breakthrough in the Fight Against RSV
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), a major global childhood infectious disease without a vaccine, kills approximately 120,000 infants a year worldwide. It’s the most common reason infants are hospitalized. Additionally, RSV sickens millions of elderly people each year. When most people catch RSV, they get a mild cold and recover quickly. But some — especially infants and the elderly — can get very sick. Infants can develop pneumonia or bronchiolitis, an inflammation of the small airways in...
Group B Strep: A Dangerous Infection in Infants and Adults
Despite advances in treatment and prevention, Group B strep continues to be the leading cause of dangerous infections in newborns, pregnant mothers and adults. An estimated 10% – 30% of pregnant women in the U.S. carry Group B streptococcus (GBS), bacteria that live in the intestine, vagina and rectum, and usually show no symptoms. During childbirth, however, the situation can change. Colonized mothers can pass GBS via amniotic or vaginal fluids to their babies causing infections which...
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