At AWS re:Invent, Pfizer exec frames digital as a core business strategy – Drug Discovery & Development
Drug Discovery and Development
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In the midst of a global pandemic, Pfizer, under the leadership of its chief digital and technology officer Lidia Fonseca, achieved what was once thought impossible. The company, with the partnership of BioNTech, developed a COVID-19 vaccine in only 269 days, a process that traditionally would have taken 8 to 10 years. While prior research on mRNA and coronaviruses contributed to that breakthrough, its digital focus was another driving force.
A digital transformation initiative launched before the outbreak of the pandemic helped the company accelerate its drug discovery and development capabilities. Then, the COVID-19 pandemic hit, further serving as a catalyst for its digital ambitions. Lidia Fonseca, Pfizer’s chief digital and technology officer, reflected on this journey at the AWS Re:Invent conference, last week, noting how digital data and AI are pivotal to its operations, which it has applied across all business units, 36 plants, and in 149 markets.
“Pfizer is experiencing an exciting period of innovation and growth with the launch of 19 medicines and vaccines in 18 months,” Fonseca said. “Digital data and AI are critical to our success.”
And while COVID-19-product-related revenues have recently forced the company to undertake cost-cutting measures, its digital transformation initiatives have unlocked a host of efficiency gains in recent years. For instance, a shift to AWS cloud computing saved Pfizer $47 million annually and facilitated the exit from three data centers, cutting CO2 emissions by 4,700 tons, Fonseca noted.
The company also credits its digital investments with helping it develop its COVID-19 vaccine with partner BioNTech in a mere 269 days, a process that typically spans 8-10 years. “This normally takes eight to 10 years,” Fonseca noted. Computation resources provided through its alliance with AWS, in particular, accelerated manufacturing and clinical trials.
Fonseca also highlighted that an implementation of a digital operations center led to manufacturing efficiency progress while also touching on cloud-based initiatives to fuel collaboration. “In 2019, Pfizer and AWS created a scientific data cloud that aggregates multimodal data from hundreds of laboratory instruments empowering our scientists to search through all historical molecular and compound data in real-time compared to weeks or months in our previous fragmented environment,” she said. Fonseca noted that this scientific data cloud accelerates analysis and computational research while tapping AI algorithms to help identify and design the most promising new molecules.
The company’s experience helping to develop a COVID-19 in record time also contributed to its initiative to redefine what fast means, as another Pfizer exec told us.
In 2021, Pfizer ramped up its cloud investment. Before embarking on a massive cloud migration initiative, about 10% of its infrastructure was in the cloud. After it, 80% was. “We moved 12,000 applications and 8,000 servers in 42 weeks — one of the fastest migrations for a company our size,” Fonseca said.
This transition saved the company $47 million a year, Fonseca noted, curbing its data center footprint and leading to a reduction of 4,700 tons of CO2 emissions, equivalent to the annual energy use of 1,000 homes.
The transition also shortened the time to set up computing capacity from months to hours, “speeding up data generation for drug submissions by 75%.”
Pfizer also invested in supercomputing capabilities that slashed computation times for complex calculations and scientific simulations by 80% to 90%, as Fonteza has shared with McKinsey. “This is helping our scientists to fast-track compounds such as our COVID-19 oral treatment,” she said.
The cloud migration also enabled the company to weather the pandemic wrought by the pandemic, helping scale the company “into tens of thousands of additional cores in the cloud, accelerating manufacturing and clinical trials,” Fonseca said.
Ultimately, Fonseca emphasized that digital transformation initiatives must be a core part of business strategy, not just an add-on. As she told McKinsey in 2021, “It’s not about creating a digital strategy for our business but about creating a business strategy for a digital world.”
As the pharma and biotech editor at WTWH Media, Brian has almost two decades of experience in B2B media, with a focus on healthcare and technology. While he has long maintained a keen interest in AI, more recently Brian has made making data analysis a central focus, and is exploring tools ranging from NLP and clustering to predictive analytics.
Throughout his 18-year tenure, Brian has covered an array of life science topics, including clinical trials, medical devices, and drug discovery and development. Prior to WTWH, he held the title of content director at Informa, where he focused on topics such as connected devices, cybersecurity, AI and Industry 4.0. A dedicated decade at UBM saw Brian providing in-depth coverage of the medical device sector. Engage with Brian on LinkedIn or drop him an email at bbuntz@wtwhmedia.com.
Copyright © 2024 WTWH Media LLC. All Rights Reserved. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of WTWH Media
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This article was autogenerated from a news feed from CDO TIMES selected high quality news and research sources. There was no editorial review conducted beyond that by CDO TIMES staff. Need help with any of the topics in our articles? Schedule your free CDO TIMES Tech Navigator call today to stay ahead of the curve and gain insider advantages to propel your business!
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In the midst of a global pandemic, Pfizer, under the leadership of its chief digital and technology officer Lidia Fonseca, achieved what was once thought impossible. The company, with the partnership of BioNTech, developed a COVID-19 vaccine in only 269 days, a process that traditionally would have taken 8 to 10 years. While prior research on mRNA and coronaviruses contributed to that breakthrough, its digital focus was another driving force.A digital transformation initiative launched before the outbreak of the pandemic helped the company accelerate its drug discovery and development capabilities. Then, the COVID-19 pandemic hit, further serving as a catalyst for its digital ambitions. Lidia Fonseca, Pfizer’s chief digital and technology officer, reflected on this journey at the AWS Re:Invent conference, last week, noting how digital data and AI are pivotal to its operations, which it has applied across all business units, 36 plants, and in 149 markets.
“Pfizer is experiencing an exciting period of innovation and growth with the launch of 19 medicines and vaccines in 18 months,” Fonseca said. “Digital data and AI are critical to our success.”
And while COVID-19-product-related revenues have recently forced the company to undertake cost-cutting measures, its digital transformation initiatives have unlocked a host of efficiency gains in recent years. For instance, a shift to AWS cloud computing saved Pfizer $47 million annually and facilitated the exit from three data centers, cutting CO2 emissions by 4,700 tons, Fonseca noted.
The company also credits its digital investments with helping it develop its COVID-19 vaccine with partner BioNTech in a mere 269 days, a process that typically spans 8-10 years. “This normally takes eight to 10 years,” Fonseca noted. Computation resources provided through its alliance with AWS, in particular, accelerated manufacturing and clinical trials.
Fonseca also highlighted that an implementation of a digital operations center led to manufacturing efficiency progress while also touching on cloud-based initiatives to fuel collaboration. “In 2019, Pfizer and AWS created a scientific data cloud that aggregates multimodal data from hundreds of laboratory instruments empowering our scientists to search through all historical molecular and compound data in real-time compared to weeks or months in our previous fragmented environment,” she said. Fonseca noted that this scientific data cloud accelerates analysis and computational research while tapping AI algorithms to help identify and design the most promising new molecules.
The company’s experience helping to develop a COVID-19 in record time also contributed to its initiative to redefine what fast means, as another Pfizer exec told us.
In 2021, Pfizer ramped up its cloud investment. Before embarking on a massive cloud migration initiative, about 10% of its infrastructure was in the cloud. After it, 80% was. “We moved 12,000 applications and 8,000 servers in 42 weeks — one of the fastest migrations for a company our size,” Fonseca said.
This transition saved the company $47 million a year, Fonseca noted, curbing its data center footprint and leading to a reduction of 4,700 tons of CO2 emissions, equivalent to the annual energy use of 1,000 homes.
The transition also shortened the time to set up computing capacity from months to hours, “speeding up data generation for drug submissions by 75%.”
Pfizer also invested in supercomputing capabilities that slashed computation times for complex calculations and scientific simulations by 80% to 90%, as Fonteza has shared with McKinsey. “This is helping our scientists to fast-track compounds such as our COVID-19 oral treatment,” she said.
The cloud migration also enabled the company to weather the pandemic wrought by the pandemic, helping scale the company “into tens of thousands of additional cores in the cloud, accelerating manufacturing and clinical trials,” Fonseca said.
Ultimately, Fonseca emphasized that digital transformation initiatives must be a core part of business strategy, not just an add-on. As she told McKinsey in 2021, “It’s not about creating a digital strategy for our business but about creating a business strategy for a digital world.”
As the pharma and biotech editor at WTWH Media, Brian has almost two decades of experience in B2B media, with a focus on healthcare and technology. While he has long maintained a keen interest in AI, more recently Brian has made making data analysis a central focus, and is exploring tools ranging from NLP and clustering to predictive analytics.
Throughout his 18-year tenure, Brian has covered an array of life science topics, including clinical trials, medical devices, and drug discovery and development. Prior to WTWH, he held the title of content director at Informa, where he focused on topics such as connected devices, cybersecurity, AI and Industry 4.0. A dedicated decade at UBM saw Brian providing in-depth coverage of the medical device sector. Engage with Brian on LinkedIn or drop him an email at bbuntz@wtwhmedia.com.
Copyright © 2024 WTWH Media LLC. All Rights Reserved. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of WTWH Media
Privacy Policy | Advertising | About Us
This article was autogenerated from a news feed from CDO TIMES selected high quality news and research sources. There was no editorial review conducted beyond that by CDO TIMES staff. Need help with any of the topics in our articles? Schedule your free CDO TIMES Tech Navigator call today to stay ahead of the curve and gain insider advantages to propel your business!
