Featured Articles
Read our latest stories on the people and scientific innovations making a difference in patients’ lives.
Purpose & Ideals
Pfizer’s Institute of Translational Equitable Medicine Addresses Equity in Health Research
When it comes to healthcare, the terms “equitable” and "access" often go hand-in-hand. In order to prevent, treat, and identify diseases that disproportionately impact underserved and minority populations, Pfizer believes that research must be directed to the root causes of healthcare disparities. The recently-launched Institute of Translational Equitable Medicine (ITEM) is intended to do just that: work toward a more equitable future of health care. For Aida Habtezion, M.D., who is Pfizer’s...
Programs & Initiatives
Shot of a Lifetime: How Two Pfizer Manufacturing Plants Upscaled to Produce the COVID-19 Vaccine in Record Time
After Pfizer and BioNtech signed a letter of intent in March 2020 to work together on a vaccine, two Pfizer facilities were swiftly selected for developing the processes and manufacturing the product at an industrial scale. Located in Puurs, Belgium, and Kalamazoo, Michigan, both plants had the space, the know-how, the people, and the equipment to get to work right away. Their locations in the U.S. and Europe positioned them well for global distribution. But even with all the right components...
Science & Innovation
Retrospect and Context: One Scientist's Thoughts on Comparing COVID-19 to the 1918 Flu Pandemic
A little over 100 years ago, about 500 million people, or one-third of the global population at the time, fell ill. At least 50 million died, with 675,000 deaths occurring in the U.S.1 Today, the COVID-19 pandemic is frequently compared with the influenza pandemic of 1918-1919. The destruction caused by that pandemic a century ago may sound familiar. Yet, direct comparisons of the 1918 flu pandemic and the COVID-19 pandemic may not be completely fair, according to one scientist. While we...
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...
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...
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...
Purpose & Ideals
Aiming for Equity: Assessing Pfizer's Ongoing Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion
As one of the world’s most prominent biopharmaceutical companies, Pfizer recognizes a responsibility, not just to pioneering medical and scientific breakthroughs, but also to building teams of scientists, doctors, and professionals that represent and model a diverse workforce. In 2020, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla laid out a series of goals to demonstrate the company’s dedication to Equity, one of Pfizer’s four core values, by increasing diversity and inclusion. These goals focus on...
Purpose & Ideals
Doing Better: Increasing Diversity in Clinical Trials
Diversity in clinical trials is key to equitable health outcomes. Increasingly, clinicians, researchers and patients are realizing that a lack of diversity in clinical trial participants may contribute to the stubborn persistence of health disparities, such as the fact that Black Americans are 30% more likely than whites to die prematurely of heart disease.1 After all, if a clinical trial for a new nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) drug doesn’t include an adequate number of Black...
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