Pfizer exec: Lessons of COVID vaccine applied elsewhere
A senior executive said Friday the pharmaceutical giant is putting its learning on the COVID-19 vaccine to work in other parts of its pipeline — while cautioning that the public should not expect an overnight proliferation of miracle cures.
Pfizer executive Angela Hwang participated in an economic summit hosted by the Connecticut Business & Industry Association that was webcast on CT-N. In Groton, Pfizer analyzes the safety and effectiveness of therapies it develops, with the New York City-based company among Connecticut’s largest employers with some 5,000 people.
A Greenwich resident, Angela Hwang leads the company’s Biopharmaceuticals Group that has more than 600 medicines and vaccines in its portfolio and pipeline, addressing infectious diseases, cancer and cures for rarer ailments that leaps in genetic science are putting within reach.
“As a company, we’ve learned that some things that are ‘no-regret’ moves, and you should apply always,” Hwang said Friday. “But then this extra element of, can you go all out and take everything and every program at risk and be able to take this financial investment at this scale all the time? I think that’s probably not going to happen all of the time.”
Still, Hwang reiterated Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla’s comments earlier this month that Pfizer is now applying the biotechnology underpinning its COVID-19 vaccine to other ailments, to include cancer.
Pfizer pivoted to COVID-19 research after advancements in a flu vaccine its scientists have been developing with Germany’s BioNTech. The companies are using messenger RNA to feed cells genetic sequences that help them recognize the spike protein that causes COVID-19 complications and develop antibodies to break down the real thing, rather than exposing the body to infected cells to elicit an immune response as the case with standard vaccines.
“Because all you need is a genetic sequence, we are able to follow the evolution of any virus — but in this case, the coronavirus,” Hwang told Connecticut business leaders on Friday. “You’ve heard a lot recently about new variants . ... By following the genetic sequence, we are able then to produce even a new vaccine, if that’s what’s necessary.”
Hwang noted the company’s tandem efforts to prepare to manufacture doses, covering everything from securing glass vials to designing specialized containers to keep vaccines frozen at approaching 100 degrees Fahrenheit below zero, which keeps the vaccine stable prior to being thawed for shots.
In December, Pfizer was first to win U.S. Food & Drug Administration emergency-use authorization for its vaccine which is administered in two doses, with Moderna getting the OK for its vaccine the same month. AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson have indicated they will seek FDA approval shortly for their vaccine candidates, with other companies expected to follow.
This month, Bourla said the company now expects to produce 2 billion doses this year. Hwang reiterated Bourla’s comments that Pfizer and BioNTech are now looking forward to applying mRNA research to other ailments, as well as operational lessons learned from the COVID-19 sprint.
“A lesson learned from all of this is that fostering an environment where innovation can thrive, where science can thrive, is really important — because if it weren’t for the fact that there was already work going on in mRNA, ... it would have taken us a whole lot longer to come up with this solution,” Hwang said. “For sure, this vaccine program has taught us a lot about where time is spent and where time can be shortened. I definitely think we will all move forward from a development perspective and ... have an even clearer sense as to where the points of acceleration might be.”