Pfizer: Gaining Access to Innovative Drugs and Obtaining New Technologies

Corporations worldwide resort to different strategies to remain at the forefront of innovation and technology in their respective fields. The biopharmaceutical company Pfizer is no different. They have been pioneering breakthrough solutions to human ailments for one-hundred-seventy-five years and intend to remain on the cutting edge of scientific medical advancement. Two ways in which they have achieved access to innovative drugs and new technologies are to partner with or buy out companies with promising futures ahead of them, and to aggressively invest in research and design (R&D). Though there are benefits to following these strategies, there are also inherent risks.

            One area in which Pfizer sees a future for themselves is Oncology. In December 2023 Pfizer completed its $43 billion acquisition of Seagen, its largest buyout to date. Seagen is considered one of the best antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) producing companies in the market. “ADCs are medicines that deliver highly potent chemotherapy agents to kill cancer cells while hopefully leaving the surrounding healthy cells intact” (Antibody–drug conjugates (adcs) and other technologies). The acquisition has “doubled Pfizer’s pipeline to 60 programs, and four FDA-approved cancer drugs – Adcedris, Padcev, Tivdak, and Tukysa. This brings their total to nine oncology medications that are already blockbuster potential” (Dunleavy, Done deal: Pfizer completes $43b acquisition of Seagen, doubling its oncology pipeline 2023). While purchasing a company with products already seen as breakthrough medicines foreshadows a bright future, there is still the risk that the final outcome may not be worth the initial investment. Only time will tell.

            Two projects that provided initial profit for Pfizer, but are no longer of current significant financial value are Pfizer’s covid-19 drug therapies, the vaccine Comirnaty, and the oral pill Paxlovid. During the worldwide coronavirus pandemic, which lasted from late 2019 through the beginning of 2023, the use of experimental vaccines was approved for emergency use. A report from the year 2020 alone stated that “70.6% of the world’s population has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine” (Mathieu et al., Coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccinations 2020). Since the pandemic has officially been declared over, COVID-19 drugs are no longer being sought out by the masses for use. While Comirnaty and Paxlovid initially helped boost Pfizer’s stock shares, “a subsequent slide has dropped its share price by nearly 49%. Share prices are now trading at a lower price than before the pandemic” (Dunleavy, Done deal: Pfizer completes $43b acquisition of Seagen, doubling its oncology pipeline 2023). Although practically anyone could foretell the eventual end of a pandemic, Pfizer still expected to see higher profit margins at this point in the game than they are currently observing.

        The downward trend on the financial side of the COVID-19 project doesn’t mean that it wasn’t worth the effort, however. The massive drive to obtain a quick and tangible solution to the COVID-19 pandemic led to a reevaluation of their traditional strategy. Ultimately, it was the collaboration with carefully chosen biotech companies and the valuable partnership that followed that led to the R&D that allowed for the discovery of mRNA therapy. Kathy Fernando, Senior Vice-President of the Pfizer Ignite program states, “I don’t think either company could have achieved, in isolation, what we ended up doing together” (Buntz, Pfizer ignite: A quest to 'redefine what fast means' 2023)

        Pfizer focuses on improving its R&D productivity by weeding out failures early on in the decision-making process and by taking calculated risks. They are also not afraid to harness the power of artificial intelligence (AI). Pfizer “initiated an immuno-AI collaboration with CytoReason Ltd. to improve target and biomarker discovery in immunology and oncology” (Fernando et al., Achieving end-to-end success in the clinic: Pfizer's learnings on R&D productivity 2022).

        Additionally, Pfizer has stayed ahead of the competition by focusing research and design (R&D) on its “quality of innovations” parameter. By following this initiative, Pfizer’s quality of products and success rates have remained optimized. “The proportion of Pfizer’s US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Center of Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) NME and novel Biologics License Application (BLA) approvals that received at least one regulatory expedited designation from the FDA as important therapeutic advances over existing treatment options (regulatory expedited designations include Breakthrough Therapy, Priority Review, Fast Track, and Accelerated Approval) over the past 5 years. Of Pfizer’s NME/novel BLA approvals from 2016 to 2020, 75% received at least one regulatory designation, compared with 67% for industry peers” (Fernando et al., Achieving end-to-end success in the clinic: Pfizer's learnings on R&D productivity 2022). This suggests that higher success rates were achieved without sacrificing quality of innovation.

 

References

Antibody–drug conjugates (adcs) and other technologies. Seagen. (n.d.). https://www.seagen.com/science/technologies

Buntz, B. (2023, October 14). Pfizer ignite: A quest to “redefine what fast means.” Drug Discovery and Development. https://www.drugdiscoverytrends.com/pfizer-ignite-kathy-fernandos-vision-for-accelerating-biotech-innovation

Dunleavy, K. (2023a, December 14). Done deal: Pfizer completes $43b acquisition of Seagen, doubling its oncology pipeline. Fierce Pharma. https://www.fiercepharma.com/pharma/done-deal-pfizer-completes-43b-acquisition-seagen-doubling-its-oncology-pipeline

Fernando, K., Menon, S., Jansen, K., Naik, P., Nucci, G., Roberts, J., Wu, S. S., & Dolsten, M. (2022a, March). Achieving end-to-end success in the clinic: Pfizer’s learnings on R&D productivity. Drug discovery today. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8719639/

Mathieu, E., Ritchie, H., Rodés-Guirao, L., Appel, C., Giattino, C., Hasell, J., Macdonald, B., Dattani, S., Beltekian, D., Ortiz-Ospina, E., & Roser, M. (2020, March 5). Coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccinations. Our World in Data. https://ourworldindata.org/covid-vaccinations

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Author's Note:

              It is worth mentioning that as brilliant a discovery as mRNA technology is, the product will forever have a black cloud overshadowing its reputation. This is because, initially, the public was purposefully mislead as to its true identity. Throughout the pandemic, mRNA was billed as a vaccine, when in reality it is not. Vaccines do not affect genetic code, whereas, mRNA technology is engineered to do just that. It is never acceptable to lie to the public, especially when it pertains to the health of ones body. A company must always be transparent with the public, or risk losing their trust. This is a message to all company's, and not just to Pfizer. May good morals always win over greed.