Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1478917
34 BioPharm International ® Emerging Therapies 2022 eBook www.biopharminternational.com T rue breakthroughs are never in plentiful supply. Recognizing reality, Uwe Schoen- beck, PhD, senior vice president and chief scientific officer for Emerging Science & Innovation (ES&I) at Pfizer, has synthesized and made functional core lessons from two of the past decade's best business books: Creativity, Inc. (1) and Loonshots (2). His ES&I group, through the power of independent invention and collaboration, applies methods described in these books to the tasks of un- covering, cultivating, and nurturing novel drugs and therapies. No two trees in his orchard are exactly alike, and some bear fruit only when many seasons of doubt, change, and struggle have passed by. But as the COVID-19 vaccine and messenger RNA (mRNA) success stories illustrate, early adoption of new tech- nologies can establish substantial long-term gains— as well as provide emergency solutions when needed. Whatever the season, there is always something tak- ing root and growing at Pfizer. Each morning, a vast landscape of activity and in- vention to sift confronts the ES&I team. This team's X-axis is a challenge that can be described as identi- fying the right partnering opportunity particularly for less known early science developments and tech- nologies. Pfizer relies on its Emerging Science Leads (ESLs), a team of seasoned PhD/MDs, to search for and evaluate opportunities from academia and the biotech industry for Pfizer's R&D organization. Ac- cording to Schoenbeck, ESLs are highly experienced in the relevant disease area and embedded within the respective therapeutic areas, resulting in high strate- gic alignment of the opportunity being sourced and avoiding opportunities that are not a strategic fit (1). Schoenbeck adds, "It's easier to identify what's com- plementary if you have an understanding of the ther- apeutic area and what's not on the typical partnering list that might be cutting edge." Each afternoon that same team takes what they've uncovered, turns it sideways, and overlays this onto Pfizer's Idea Orchard Chris Spivey, editorial director The flow of capital and scientific acuity irrigates this pharm system. Е Л ЕН А БУ Т УСОВА - STOCK.ADOBE.COM