Pfizer - Enterprise Tech Ecosystem Series

Pfizer - Enterprise Tech Ecosystem Series

Summary

Pfizer discovers, develops, manufactures, and commercializes biopharmaceuticals; offers products to treat various conditions, such as cardiovascular, metabolic and pain, cancer, inflammation, immune disorders, and rare diseases; and provides sterile injectable pharmaceuticals, biosimilars, active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), and contract manufacturing services. Pfizer sells its products through wholesalers, retailers, hospitals, clinics, government agencies, and pharmacies; and it has major manufacturing facilities in India, China, Japan, Ireland, Italy, Belgium, Germany, Singapore, and the US. The company provides its products in North America, South America, Asia-Pacific, Australia, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. Pfizer is headquartered in New York (US).

In January 2020, Pfizer launched its Center of Excellence Network for Vaccine Research, a global program focused on collaborating with academic institutions to conduct research on epidemiology to identify diseases that can be cured through vaccines, as well as measure its effectiveness on adults. Pfizer’s vaccine division opened its first Center of Excellence at the University of Louisville. It has plans to open a second global center.

In September 2019, Pfizer announced to establish a global network of digital research hubs to leverage big data analytics and AI. The hubs will focus on developing new technologies that can integrate into the production process for the development of new medicines and vaccines.

Pfizer’s global Center of Excellence for RWE focuses on infusing and institutionalizing the concept of real-world evidence across all divisions of the organization. The Center is also responsible for gathering and communicating the best practices, knowledge that is generated, and lessons learned from RWE studies.

Pfizer Blockchain Center of Excellence through its open innovation workshop has formed an initiative called the Clinical Supply Blockchain Working Group (CSBWG) that focuses on developing an interoperable, transparent, and auditable blockchain-based platform to enhance trial supply chain and experimental drug tracking. The working group comprises of companies, such as AstraZeneca, GlaxoSmithKline, Merck, Deloitte, Biogen, LedgerDomain, and Pfizer.

In 2015, Pfizer collaborated with the Chilean government to launch CEPM in Chile. The primary objective of the partnership was to run proof-of-concepts to develop new technology platforms, based on next-generation sequencing that helps in diagnosing lung cancer. Pfizer invested $14 million and received a fund worth $7 million from the Chilean Economic Development Agency’s (Corfo) program toward the Center’s development and operations.

Pfizer has a dedicated innovation room for its innovation team, which was formed under the company’s Dare to Try initiative. Through this program, Pfizer encourages its employees to generate innovative ideas.

Pfizer’s Center of Excellence of analytics is an initiative rolled out by the company to analyze a large pool of clinical data for efficient drug discovery.

This report provides insight into Pfizer's digital activities, including its digital transformation strategies, its innovation programs, its technology initiatives, its estimated ICT budget, and its major ICT contracts.

Scope

• Disruptive technologies, advanced analytics, and supercomputing platforms have played a vital role during Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine production, helping it identify the correct drug used throughout the vaccine trials. Pfizer adopted AI as its core technology for conducting the trials, processing vaccines, and streamlining its distribution. Pfizer's prior investment in digital infrastructure, digitalization of research and development (R&D) operations, and AI-enabled working systems further complemented its effort in producing and distributing the vaccine to the public in less than a year.
• Pfizer has migrated most of its modernized enterprise products to the cloud, reducing operational costs for its IT department and the whole organization by about $1.5 billion. Its scalable cloud architecture is also capable of hosting its big data with billions of data points for drug development. Pfizer has also implemented Oracle’s cloud Clinical Trial Management System (CTMS) for supporting its growing business and consolidating decentralized data across the organization into a single platform for effective analysis and reporting capabilities.
• Whether through sensors that deliver health data to clinicians or mobile apps that support patients through treatments, Pfizer is leveraging new methods of engagement and data capture, all of which support the R&D of new drugs and delivery of integrated healthcare experiences.
• Pfizer is adopting technologies, such as AI and analytics, for accelerating the drug discovery process and to increase its efficiency.
• AI: Pfizer is deploying AI technologies for streamlining its drug development. In 2019, Pfizer tested a collaborative deep learning and analytics platform.
• Data Mining: Pfizer is adopting advanced data mining techniques to glean useful insights from its existing clinical trial data, which in turn, would help the company discover hidden patterns, design new trials, identify new ways of utilizing existing drugs, and evaluate the effectiveness of drugs.

• Gain insights into Pfizer's tech operations.
• Gain insights into its digital strategies and innovation initiatives.
• Gain insights into its technology themes under focus.
• Gain insights into various product launches, partnerships, and acquisition strategies.