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Read our latest stories on the people and scientific innovations making a difference in patients’ lives.
Science & Innovation
Harnessing the Power of AI to Detect ATTR-CM
Artificial intelligence (AI) has quietly become a part of our daily lives – through personalized recommendations, virtual assistants, or smart devices, we barely notice it anymore. Yet many of us might not realize the advances AI is making in healthcare. From accelerating drug discovery to improving disease detection, it is transforming the way we understand and manage health.AI has had numerous applications in cardiology in recent years, from analyzing results of cardiac imaging tests to...
Science & Innovation
In Search of a New Hemophilia Treatment
Despite significant advancements in hemophilia treatments over the past several decades, a fundamental challenge remains for many patients: balancing management of the disorder while maintaining regular day-to-day activities.Historically, treatments could be cumbersome and time-consuming to administer. They typically required intravenous administration up to several times a week to prevent bleeding episodes.1 Even treatments that could be administered at home required infusions multiple times a...
Science & Innovation
Viral vs Bacterial Infections: Different Pathogens, Different Approaches
When you experience symptoms of an infection such as fever, fatigue, decreased appetite, or pain, knowing whether a virus or bacteria is making you sick may be the key to getting the right treatment and feeling better.1,2Viruses and bacteria are among the most well-known causes of infection.3 Infections occur when viruses or bacteria invade the human host and proliferate.3 But there are some important distinctions between them, and it’s important to determine whether it’s a bacteria or virus...
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
A New Road to Migraine Relief
Migraine, a debilitating neurological disorder,1 affects over a billion people globally.2,3 The cause of migraine remains an active area of research–experts believe genetics, the nervous system, and the brain's blood vessels are involved in the condition.4,5 The majority of people have episodic migraine, experiencing between 0-14 days of headache per month.6 On the other hand, those with chronic migraine experience 15 or more days of headaches a month, with at least 8 of those days caused by...
Science & Innovation
In Celebrating 175 Years, Pfizer Challenges Itself to ‘Outdo Yesterday’
Image caption: Site of the Pfizer World Headquarters Building as it Appeared in 1861It started with a breakthrough.The year was 1849, and people everywhere were getting sick to their stomachs. In the days before widespread refrigeration, a simple meal of meat and potatoes could cause intestinal worms. A drug called santonin could kill the parasites, but it tasted so bitter many people avoided it.Charles Pfizer and his cousin, Charles Erhart, had just immigrated to the U.S. from Germany and...
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 a greater 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...
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 Challenges of Defining, Understanding, and Addressing Long COVID
Years have passed since COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic. And though some immunity (acquired by vaccination or through a combination of vaccination and prior infection) allows people to reincorporate some of the lifestyle and activities that they used to enjoy, the virus continues to significantly impact patients, health systems, and economies around the world. In addition to the devastating effects that acute infection can have on those at high risk for severe illness, so-called long...
Science & Innovation
What Does mRNA Mean for the Flu Vaccine?
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, messenger RNA, or mRNA, has been in the spotlight for the critical role it’s playing in the first-ever approved mRNA vaccine.1 But in fact, Pfizer and BioNTech had entered into a worldwide collaboration agreement in 2018 to work on an mRNA vaccine for a different virus. “Pfizer's first partnership with BioNTech was to look at ways to develop a more effective flu vaccine,” says John McLaughlin, who is Vice President, COVID-19/Flu Vaccines & Antivirals Lead with...
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...
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