Developing a new vaccine requires many kinds of scientific expertise, including deep knowledge of diseases and their targets, as well as mastery of the science and technology required to find the best approach to the disease target.
Many companies in our industry are limited in their ability to assemble and manage all the expertise and knowledge required to bring a series of new therapies and vaccines to doctors. Blessed with depth and breadth of scientific talent and considerable resources, Pfizer is able to bring together the experts, the platforms, the technologies and the partnerships to make an impact across many therapeutic areas.
However, even Pfizer, strong as it is, must have focus. Our pipeline of about 500 projects is largely focused on six "Invest to Win" areas, where we believe that we have significant new opportunities for innovation and market leadership. These are:
- Alzheimer's disease
- Oncology
- Diabetes
- Inflammation
- Pain
- Psychoses
While our portfolio of research projects is centered on these areas, Pfizer can go where the science takes us. Our overall portfolio of investigational medicines covers many significant unmet medical needs, from neurological conditions such as autism to agents that fight increasingly treatment-resistant bacterial, fungal and viral infections. We continue to challenge some of the most feared diseases of our time, including what have traditionally been termed "neglected diseases"—diseases like malaria that strike millions of people, largely in developing nations. We are also combating "orphan diseases"—often devastating conditions striking limited numbers of people. Our 2009 agreement with the Israeli company Protalix, for example, is focused on developing a plant-based enzyme treatment for Gaucher's disease, an inherited condition occurring just once in every 20,000 live births. This compound is now in Phase III trials and is already being made available, with permission from regulatory authorities, to people suffering from this disease.
Pfizer is among the world's leaders in investments made in biomedical research and development, a commitment that grew with the 2009 acquisition of Wyeth. Today, Pfizer's pipeline of new medicines in development is the largest in the industry. It includes 133 programs in Phase 1 through registration, and shows growth and diversity in each of the areas where the company invests in development.
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According to the International Diabetes Federation, the diabetes epidemic has the greatest potential to increase in China, because of its population size, rapid urbanization and economic expansion. In response, Pfizer has become partners with the Japanese company Takeda to co-promote Takeda's Actos for the treatment of type 2 diabetes in China. The exclusive co-promotion agreement will greatly increase the geographic reach and number of medical representatives supporting this needed product.
In early 2010 Pfizer and Fudan University, one of China's oldest educational institutions, launched a joint program in pharmacoeconomics policies and research. Pharmacoeconomics compares the value of one drug or drug therapy to another. This first-of-its-kind program is designed to encourage public policy formulation in the field of pharmacoeconomics evaluation by creating a three-year talent training and capacity development program. It also demonstrates Pfizer's long-term commitment to the development of China's biopharmaceutical industry, in line with China's health care reform initiatives.
In 2007 Pfizer struck an agreement with Bristol-Myers Squibb on apixaban, which targets a protein called factor Xa, theorized to play a role in the development of blood clots. Apixaban is being developed to prevent venous thromboembolism (VTE), a potentially dangerous condition where a blood clot breaks loose from a vein wall and lodges in the lungs. Apixaban may offer more consistency, lower risks of drug interaction, and more flexibility in dosing than the current standard of care for a large variety of patients who need anticoagulants to prevent VTE. More than 17,000 patients are currently enrolled in Phase III studies on VTE prevention, and apixaban is being explored for other indications, including the prevention of stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation and the prevention of major coronary events. Late in 2009, Pfizer and Bristol-Myers Squibb announced their intention to file for regulatory approval in Europe for apixaban as a new medicine for preventing venous thromobembolism.
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Explore Pfizer's latest comprehensive update of the pipeline, since the acquisition of Wyeth.
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