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Read our latest stories on the people and scientific innovations making a difference in patients’ lives.
Living & Wellbeing
Empowerment Through Patient Education: How to Play an Active Role in Your Healthcare
The phrase “knowledge is power” rings true in healthcare encounters as much as it does in day-to-day life. “Patient education is important so that patients can make informed decisions in their care and treatment plans,” says Mike Zincone, Senior Director of Patient Advocacy at Pfizer. Research has shown that patient education significantly improves adherence with taking prescribed medications.1 One of the big challenges when it comes to patient education, says Zincone, is determining where to...
The Antigen Podcast
The Antigen is an eight-part audio-documentary style podcast about the scientific, cultural, and political elements of vaccination. We start with the basic science, review vaccine history, explore the many facets of their global impact, and the public sentiment about vaccines around the world. Hear from leading experts about the past, present, and future of this important innovation, as well as people whose families have been impacted by vaccine-preventable diseases. Host: Jasmeen Agosti M.D...
Purpose & Ideals
Pfizer's Commitment to Supplier Diversity
While it’s easy to recognize the economic and social benefits that suppliers and their communities receive by doing business with a global biopharmaceutical company such as Pfizer, the benefits are far more mutual than they may seem. Applying innovative perspectives gained from working with suppliers that bring diversity, Pfizer is better able to improve patient care through these connections to a more inclusive group of communities, thus improving health for all. One way Pfizer has worked to...
Anatomy of a Clinical Trial: The Purpose, People, and Phases of Clinical Research
From 2010 to July 2021, ClinicalTrials.gov reports that the number of registered clinical trials more than tripled, growing from 100,208 to 384,288 and counting.1 The race for a COVID-19 vaccine made clinical trials headline news in 2020 and 2021, with thousands of people worldwide volunteering to take part in vaccine studies. Still, for some, the details of what clinical trials do and how they work may not be clear. Judy Sewards, Head of Clinical Trial Experience at Pfizer, offers some...
Data Doctors: How Biostatisticians Play a Critical Role in Discovering and Developing Medicine
When you think of a statistician, you may picture a math whiz hastily scrawling formulas on a white board in the halls of academia or the trading floors of finance. But statisticians—specifically, biostatisticians—play a critical role in discovering and developing new medicines. “If we want to get the most from the data, analysis, and experiment, more often than not, it requires early partnership between scientists and biostatisticians in the design and analysis plan,” says Vice President...
Programs & Initiatives
Shot of a Lifetime: How Pfizer Developed its Own Raw Materials to Ensure a Steady Supply for the COVID-19 Vaccine
It was December 15, 2020 when Melissa French got the message: Pfizer needed large quantities of something called a cationic lipid that was critical to the COVID-19 vaccine. “This isn’t an everyday lipid that's readily available,” says French, who is a Project Manager with Pfizer Global Supply, and handles lipid production at a facility in Kalamazoo, Michigan. She was being asked to lead a team in producing large amounts of this important raw material. The call wasn’t a complete surprise. A...
Programs & Initiatives
Shot of a Lifetime: How Pfizer is Partnering with CMOs to Increase COVID-19 Vaccine Production and Reach More People
On a Sunday afternoon in May of 2020, Amy Genest’s phone rang. She recognized the number immediately and excused herself from her young daughters and her husband to take the work call. On the line, a colleague at Pfizer told her she needed help in securing contract manufacturing organizations (CMOs) to assist with vaccine production, when—and if—Pfizer and BioNTech were authorized to manufacture a COVID-19 vaccine. “That task was nothing new for Genest, who at the time served as New Products...
Programs & Initiatives
Shot of a Lifetime: How Pfizer and BioNTech Developed and Manufactured a COVID-19 Vaccine in Record Time
On March 11, 2020 the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic1. Just six days later, on March 17, Pfizer signed a letter of intent with BioNTech to co-develop a potential COVID-19 vaccine2. In those early days, it was unclear how this new virus was transmitted, or how long it would last. But as deaths around the world mounted and life as we knew it drastically changed, one thing became apparent: the virus was spreading rapidly, and the race for a vaccine was underway3. BioNTech...
Living & Wellbeing
Why Raising Health Literate Children Is Important
Annlouise Assaf’s grandmother didn’t speak much English when she left Lebanon for the United States in the early 1900s. The language barrier forced Assaf and her siblings — who were just kids — to stand in as the chief interpreters during doctors’ appointments. As her grandma’s health hung in the balance, Assaf soon found herself juggling much more than two dialects. “The doctor would ask us all these questions,” recalls Assaf. “But first, we had to understand what the doctor was asking us.”...
Living & Wellbeing
The Truth About COVID-19 and Black Fungus
The novel coronavirus has recently been linked to two serious fungal infections: COVID-19 associated pulmonary aspergillosis (CAPA) and COVID-19 associated mucormycosis (CAM).1 The resurgence of these rare fungal infections has medical personnel concerned. A 2021 study found that more than 47,000 cases of CAM were reported in just three months in India. And with the Delta variant spreading worldwide, reports suggest that the number of cases is likely much higher.2 Aspergillosis and...
Real People
Ramcess Jean-Louis Is Ready to Build on Pfizer’s Longtime Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
As the new Global Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Officer at Pfizer, Ramcess Jean-Louis is betting that the global biopharmaceutical company that delivered a COVID-19 vaccine in nine months will support the mission of his office with a similar urgency and can-do spirit. “I feel as if I’ve joined an organization that has the mentality and philosophy that nothing is impossible. When we apply that same urgency and attention to the area of diversity, equity and inclusion, the...
Purpose & Ideals
Through Public-Private Partnership, Scientists are Working to Better Understand Gene Therapy and How it Could Help Patients With Rare Diseases
A rare disease is, by its very nature, rare. The CDC defines a rare disease as a condition that affects fewer than 200,000 people in the United States, or no more than one out of every 2,000 people in Europe.1 And yet, rare diseases—which frequently have a genetic component—affect many: there may be as many 7,000 different types of rare diseases, impacting 25 to 30 million people in the United States, according to the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences.2 Often, rare diseases...
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