LIFESCIENCELEADER.COM JUNE 2014
39
Lessons Learned
Help Pfizer Accelerate
Biotherapeutic
Development
ix of the seven blockbuster biother-
apeutics belonging to Big Pharma
have roots to small biotechs (see
Table 1). So too does Tim Charlebois, Ph.D.,
VP of technology and innovation strategy
within Pfizer's biotherapeutics pharma-
ceutical sciences (BTx Pharm Sci). Part
of the company's drug development orga-
nization, the 700-person BTx Pharm Sci
group operates between Pfizer's biothera-
peutics research and biotech manufactur-
ing organizations. One of the challenges
facing Pfizer is an increase in the "per-
ceived" distance between internal opera-
tions resulting from the company's sig-
nificant growth.
Since 1990 the company has acquired
the likes of Warner-Lambert, Pharmacia,
and Wyeth and grown from $2.8 billion, to
$51.5 billion in 2013. Charlebois's charge
— help Pfizer accelerate its biotherapeu-
tics development program by getting the
company's manufacturing and biothera-
peutics research organizations to work
together more closely — was much like that
at the small biotech where he began his
career. According to Charlebois, it involves
learning what kinds of new products will
be emerging from research taking place
upstream, and preparing the organization
downstream to develop and manufacture.
But it also involves knowing the tech-
nology existing downstream and com-
municating these capabilities upstream,
and where Charlebois began the process
of decreasing the "perceived" distance
between biotherapeutics research and
manufacturing by applying lessons
learned in small biotech.
R O B W R I G H T Chief Editor
S
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