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Read our latest stories on the people and scientific innovations making a difference in patients’ lives.
Science & Innovation
Behind the Science: Breaking the Cycle of C. difficile
The human gut contains a variety of bacteria and other microorganisms comprising the microbiome, and that’s a good thing! A healthy microbiome helps maintain a strong immune system and aids in digestion, among other important tasks. But sometimes, too much of a specific bacterium can result in infection, with the potential to progress from an ordinary health challenge to a life-threatening ordeal.Clostridioides difficile, also known as C. difficile, is one such bacterium. It often exists...
Real People
'Science Has Kept Me Here': How Biomarker Research is Shaping the Future of Cancer Care
Debbie Pickworth developed a cough she couldn’t shake after a bout with bronchitis. She went to see her doctor multiple times, explaining that she was struggling to breathe, but nothing seemed to help.Then, tests revealed the unthinkable: Debbie had lung cancer. She was 43 years old.Lung cancer was nothing new to Debbie’s family. Just 16 years earlier, her mother died from the same disease; her grandmother also died from lung cancer. Now, Debbie was afraid she was on the same path. She thought...
Science & Innovation
Pursuing the Next Breakthrough in Cancer Cachexia
Cachexia, a complex wasting syndrome, impacts an estimated 9 million people worldwide.[i] In people living with cancer, cachexia can diminish the tolerance of therapies and is linked to reduced survival rates. Currently, there are no FDA-approved treatments targeting its underlying cause.Over time, the way researchers and physicians understand cachexia has evolved, with growing focus on uncovering the biology behind this devastating disease.In an effort to address a critical gap in care and help...
Science & Innovation
Developing a Path Forward in Cancer Cachexia
Across disciplines, therapeutic areas, and even continents, Pfizer scientists have been working to advance understanding of – and potential treatments for – cachexia, a complex metabolic condition associated with certain chronic conditions, such as cancer, and characterized by severe weight loss, decreased appetite, fatigue, and muscle wasting. Its symptoms can often be misattributed, and there are currently no FDA-approved treatments targeting its root cause.But, over the past decade, the...
Purpose & Ideals
The Mindfulness of Medicine Development: How Scientists Are Driving the Next Wave of Medical Innovations
For millions of patients around the world, the development of a new treatment or vaccine can be life-changing. But the journey from promising drug candidate to approved product isn’t easy. It's a long and arduous process, with an average timeline lasting more than 10 years.Behind the scenes of these life-changing medical breakthroughs are the scientists whose dedication, expertise, and remarkable problem-solving skills are driving progress forward. Though their training could have prepared them...
Science & Innovation
Pharma Peers Unite to Build DNA-Encoded Libraries
Finding tools and hits for targets in drug discovery can feel like hunting for four leaf clovers in a blizzard. And researcher Sylvie Sakata was close to giving up on one discovery tool, DNA-encoded libraries, when a new consortium started to fall into place. Now this technology is garnering more interest for its potential to discover new molecular compounds, known as “hits,” to exponentially impact the early research efforts that can lead to potential new medicines.Sakata is the Head of...
Science & Innovation
What You Need to Know About a Promising Vaccine Candidate that May Stem the Growing Risk of Lyme Disease
Lyme disease is the most common vector-borne illness in the United States.1 The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that state health departments reported over 63,000 cases in 2022.2 However, the CDC uses other methods to estimate that approximately 476,000 people in the U.S. may be diagnosed and treated for Lyme disease annually.2In other words, the estimated number of Lyme disease cases in the U.S. seems to be much higher than what is being reported to public health...
Science & Innovation
Mathematical Sandbox: How Quantitative Systems Pharmacology Steers Safer, Faster Drug Development
Fear and anxiety swirled when Dr. Cynthia J. Musante’s husband contracted COVID-19. He faced agreater risk of coming down with a severe case since he was already unwell.But all their worries vanished in just 24 hours.Dr. Musante recalls that her husband soon started to feel better after being prescribed an investigational oral treatment for those with COVID-19. “It felt like a miracle,” he said. “I had felt so horrible.”As relief settled in, Dr. Musante felt something else: pride.After all, from...
Science & Innovation
From Math to Medicine: What Are Mathematical Models and How Do They Predict Pharmacology?
It sounds strange, but predicting how medications impact diseases and the body is a lot like forecasting the weather.To understand why, imagine opening a weather app on your smartphone to check the forecast for the upcoming weekend. You see that it’ll be sunny, 72 degrees, with a slight breeze—perfect weather. But how did scientists predict those precise physical conditions so far in the future?The answer: mathematical models.Scientists across disciplines use mathematical models to make...
Science & Innovation
The Science Behind Migraine and Headaches
If you've never had a migraine attack, it’s hard to imagine how a headache can knock someone out of commission. Perhaps you've even referred to a headache as “having a migraine.” But if you're among the one billion people worldwide who lives with migraine, you fully understand how debilitating an attack can be.1 The pain, nausea, and sensitivity to light and sound can make it impossible to work or care for your family. No wonder migraine is the second leading cause of disability.2 Understandin...
Science & Innovation
Zinc Finger Transcription Factors: The On/Off Switch for Genes Inspired by Frogs
Have you ever noticed how effortlessly frogs cling to nearly every surface? Their sticky little fingers easily grab and hold onto just about anything they want. It turns out that the frogs have protein structures that do the same thing, and these structures could be the key to unlocking therapies for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD), two of the most debilitating neurological conditions affecting millions of people today. While studying the African clawed...
Science & Innovation
How to Manage High Blood Pressure (With the Help of a Few Giraffes)
People have long adored giraffes for their friendly faces, their tall and somewhat strange stature and, of course, those impossibly long necks. Now, researchers believe that giraffes may also offer physiological insights into certain health conditions. With a neck that can be longer than six feet, giraffes seemingly should struggle with the consequences of high blood pressure, also known as hypertension, because of their blood's substantial uphill climb from the heart to the brain. But they...
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