But youve had to deal with a lot of politics in the last eighteen months. A scandal is brewing in the European Union over the missing text messages between EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla. It was, I think, love at first sight and it was the beginning of a tremendous relationship, collaboration, between the two companies and me and him, particularly, in person. Bourla, 58, who was born in Greece and trained to be a veterinarian before working his way up the ranks at Pfizer, plans to price the vaccine to make a profit, but believes governments should. . Soas you can see now, you dont even put a piece of the virus. This is the biggest agreement that wemadewith them. Ifyourenot, you are a hardcore Republican. You can put a lot of pressure, but you should never lose your temper and make people feel unhappy and uncomfortable. We use cookies to improve your website experience. [46], Bourla is a member of The Business Council, an organization of business leaders headquartered in Washington, D.C.,[47] and the Business Roundtable, a group of chief executives of major U.S. corporations established to promote pro-business public policy. [8], From 2010 to 2013, Bourla served as president and general manager of Pfizer's Established Products Business Unit. [5] His parents, who were Sephardi Jews, were among the 2,000 of 50,000 Jews in Thessaloniki to survive the Holocaust; According to Bourla, his mother was allegedly minutes away from execution by firing squad when she was spared via a ransom paid to a Nazi Party official by her non-Jewish brother-in-law, while his father happened to be out of the Jewish ghetto when the residents were taken to the Auschwitz concentration camp and went into hiding, never to see his parents again.[6][7]. However, I have been surprised many times in my life with things that in science,we expectthings,and they dont come exactly like that. What do you feel that youve learned through this very, very intensive period, which by the way, is still ongoing? I think thats the most likely to bring fruits faster. Albert BourlaPolitical Campaign Contributions2016 Election Cycle. Wall Street Journal Bestseller2022 Genesis Prize LaureateThe exclusive, first-hand, behind-the-scenes story of how Pfizer raced to create the first Covid-19 vaccine, told by Pfizer's Chairman and CEO Dr. Albert Bourla.A riveting, fast-paced, inside look at one of the most incredible private sector achievements in history, Moonshot recounts the intensive nine months in 2020 when the . It is clear that whenyou start from scratch,in thefirst month you will have fewer doses than the month after. But I didnt take into considerationthatmonths after I joined Pfizer,Ifell inlove with the company andfellin love with what they are doing. I dont regret that I did that because I know that without that,we wouldnt be here, and I know that mypeopledont mind that I put a lot of pressure[on]them because they knew that this is what was needed. Those that dont get the vaccine, theyre afraid of the vaccine and they are mad with the people that are pressing them to get it. UkraineAlert is a comprehensive online publication that provides regular news and analysis on developments in Ukraines politics, economy, civil society, and culture. Youve been through two quite different American presidents. It isonebillion doses. "I'm feeling well and symptom free," Bourla said in a. Buteventually, they convinced me to do it and it was always my idea that for me,it wouldbe kind of a sabbatical. Is that right? If youre the pharmaceutical industry and youre worried about where this is going to take you, then you support the party that opposes price interventions, Blendon said. The question is how long will it last? ALBERT BOURLA:No,I believe we will see an end. No strings attached from anything that Iknow,and I can see. Albert Bourla said the US drugmaker would never submit any vaccine for authorisation before it felt it was safe and effective. What have you learned about domestic politics? Albert Bourla (Greek: ; born (1961-10-21)October 21, 1961) is a Greek-American veterinarian and the chairman and chief executive officer of Pfizer, an American pharmaceutical company. ALBERT BOURLA:You are right. FREDERICK KEMPE:And part of this was an agreement with, I believe,theBiden administration and the US government, in whichyou provided atcost,and they are providing to certain countries at no cost. [12][13], In 2001, he immigrated to the United States. I think well be changing the way that people work now that we knowthat thisworks that well. FREDERICK KEMPE:You also said that your Jewish upbringing in Greece, coming from a small country on the world stage, being of a religious minority from the country, taught you to fight for what you believe is right and never to give up. I had seen in China that hospitals were overwhelmed, and we are one of the biggest suppliers of hospital products in the world. Image: Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla talks during a press conference with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen after a visit to oversee the production of the Pfizer-BioNtech COVID-19 vaccine at the factory of US pharmaceutical company Pfizer in Puurs, Belgium on April 23, 2021. Atlantic Council. Every day we tried to navigate the political mindset and the way that I saw it was that I had to create pressure[to]our people butalso,I had to protect our people from internal bureaucracy, from external bureaucracy,andgive them the resources so that they can work. To do that, we need to vaccinate with a full series of dosesthe vast majority ofthe people,and if we dothat,we will have herd immunity and then we will reduce the virus all over the world. So, for me, that was a leadership lesson thatwasveryimportant,and I will never forget. 2020 Election Cycle. When it comes to leadership, people dont know what they can and cannot do and, if anything, they have a severe tendency to underestimate what they can achieve. Sowe set up a task force that was really following very closely whatwashappening in China and weweretrying to make sure that we do the right things. That was a very, very big issue from day one for me, and I realized that if we have this polarization within the country, for example, I could only imagine what will bebetween countries when the vaccine would become available if we dont have available for all. Over that same period of time, the CEO of. [18][3], In an interview he gave to the BBC in December 2021, Bourla said there is no doubt in my mind that the benefits, completely, are in favour of vaccinating five to 11 year old children against Covid-19. [38][39] However his strategy of pricing during the pandemic has been called "war profiteering" by former CDC chief Tom Frieden. I had,somehow,to be the seal that will absorb the pressure, the political pressures, rather than having thepressuresgoing all the way down toour people. He would reach out to me to ask about how we are doing and if theres anything he can do to help us accelerate, et cetera, et cetera, which I told him that there is nothing. Albert Bourla, the CEO of Pfizer. ALBERT BOURLA:Yeah. From the perspective of industry, their best-case scenario is to put their money into places to prevent the structural changes that could cut into their bottom lines, said Margarida Jorge, campaign director of Lower Drug Prices Now. And the sameisas a Greek coming to America with a very thick accent. Fromafirst glance, wecould be the exact opposite. And also, people are moving from rural places to urban places. I knew that therewasnot a single product mRNA out there. I was puzzled when they told me. When eventually our vaccine became very successful and we started producing enough quantities and maybe some others that have problems to deliver the quantities that they promised, then they all came back tous,and they asked that we want those. Albert Bourla was born in Thessaloniki, home to an ancient Jewish community that traced its roots to antiquity. It shouldnt be discussed in political terms. It must have just been an incredible moment of intensity for you. The following is a full transcript of an interview with Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla that aired Sunday, March 13, 2022, on "Face the Nation." CBS News App Jan. 6 Probe from 1999 to present. In 2009 he promoted the launch of Improvac on the European Market. Topline. [23][27] He restructured Pfizer and spun-off the consumer health care business during his tenure as COO. As we get closer to an important data readout from our COVID-19 vaccine program, I wanted to speak directly to the billions of people, millions of businesses and hundreds of governments around the world that are investing their hopes in a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine to overcome . Why is it youve been able to produce something of quite historic nature whenmany corporate collaborations among CEOsandfounders of companies dont work in quite the same way? Everything can be done. The historic development of the world's first mRNA COVID-19 vaccine by Pfizer was the result of the ingenuity and hard work of smart, dedicated scientists and engineers. The pharmaceutical industry worries that response will include pricing controls like those in Pelosis negotiation legislation, which would peg the price tag for certain medicines to their prices in other countries and levy hefty fines on drug companies that refuse to reduce the cost of their products. [8], From January 2014 to January 2016, Bourla served as Group President of Pfizer's Global Vaccines, Oncology, and Consumer Healthcare business,[18][19][20][21] where he led Pfizer's work on cancer and heart drugs, among others, and helped launch Eliquis, an anticoagulant, and Ibrance, a breast cancer treatment drug. The United Statesplaced orders. [48], Bourla and his wife live in Scarsdale, New York. Butalsowe are working on multiple other targets,creating vaccines for other infectious diseases. But those will send the signal to yourselfto produce this protein. [49][3] He received $21 million in compensation from Pfizer in 2020. We know that we saw a waning of immunity six months after the second dose. A spokesperson for Pfizer told The Associated Press that Myriam Bourla is "alive and well." The official called the incorrect claims "lies" meant to undermine public confidence in the company's COVID-19 vaccine. He joined the company in 1993 and has held several executive roles across Pfizer's divisions. 2023 Atlantic Council The campaign of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and affiliated committees were the leading beneficiaries, raking in more than $91,000 from five top industry executives in 2019, Federal Election Commission records show. [40], In 2020, he was ranked as America's top CEO in the pharmaceutical industry by Institutional Investor. John Cornyn (R-Texas), Cory Gardner (R-Colo.), and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.). In an interview with CNBC, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla stated that two doses of the vaccine give modest protection, if any, whereas three doses with a booster offer reasonable protection against hospitalisation and mortality but less protection against infection. Weincreased dramaticallythe digital budgetandalso,we reduced the administrative budget in the company. The other one was a Greek Jew that immigrated to the United States. Sotalk to me about what youve learned about geopolitics, domestic politics, and fake news. So thats another good lesson that I learned,and I try to do less of it, lets say. Pfizer Chairman and CEO Albert Bourla joined the Atlantic Council to talk about his collaboration with BioNTech on the COVID-19 vaccine, his take on misinformation and politics in medicine, and his personal story. They were bothreally verypurpose-drivenOne wasverybig,the other wasvery smallcompared to the big one. Is a booster shot enough right now? When Bourla took over as Pfizer's leader in 2019, he took a. What they are doing, instead of introducing, lets say, a piece of the virusyou are sending a message to yourself through a messenger RNA so that your cells will produce a similar protein like the protein of the virus. UkraineAlert sources analysis and commentary from a wide-array of thought-leaders, politicians, experts, and activists from Ukraine and the global community. Sins of the Pfizer. AbbVies Richard Gonzalez gave $26,240, with more than $20,000 of that going to McConnell-affiliated committees. Yoususpect that there are some countries behind. [54], He has made political contributions to both Republicans and Democrats, in particular to those who oppose controls on prescription drug prices in the United States. Masks, jabs, testing kitsare these going to become a more permanent part of our lives,or is there an end to whatweregoing through as we see different variantsrise uphere and there and new need for a response? Photo via John Thys/REUTERS. The following is a transcript of an interview with Pfizer CEO Dr. Albert Bourla that aired Sunday, September 13, 2020, on "Face the Nation." Bourla also appeared on "Face the Nation" on March. 3), which the White House also opposes, is keeping the legislation from becoming law. But when we are moving to middle-income countries, not in the high, we charge half of this price almost. ALBERT BOURLA:Oh. There are a lot of technologies that are trying to use gene editing,so that they are trying to use the same technology to be able to change,orrepair, the mistake of your DNA so that you can cure, basically, those people. ALBERT BOURLA:Well, clearly, it was a crash course for me,and I think that I learned enough to have a PhD in political sciences right now but, unfortunately, the hard way. Previously, he served as group president of Pfizer . ALBERT BOURLA:I believe so becausethe personality of someone is really built in the early daysofhis life, and then it follows in whatever they do. I was very familiar with mRNA technology because we had hired people back in 2015[who]specializedin mRNA. The lesson for me is that the leader needs to do whatever he or shecan notto comeina position that will stress the people. I think science is at the cuspto beable to provide solutions for this. They are criminals because they literally cost millions of lives. The othertwenty-fiveyears I spent internationally. He is also credited with helping the development of Improvac, which eradicates boar taint, and for refocusing Pfizer's vaccine division to focus on Staphylococcus, Clostridioides difficile infection, infant diseases, and the PfizerBioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. In the United States,it was impossible to do that because there was so much animation andpolarization,and COVID-19was at the epicenter of the debate. That gives you a tremendous drive and this is what everyone on this team, in Pfizer and in BioNTech, did during these eight marvelous months. FREDERICK KEMPE:Talk about[your collaboration with BioNTech]and why this one has worked. (John Thys, Pool via AP) By: Ciara O'Rourke August 25, 2021 A clip from an interview with Pfizer CEO and Chairman Albert. I took a plane [back], and on theplane,I wrote down the priorities that I felt that a company like ours should have, and the first wasthatwe need to make sure that we protect the safety of our people. We went to all thecountries,and we asked to place orders, and I saw the orders that were coming and most of them were coming from high-income countries. But the fundamental is that what really helped us and BioNTech and the teams that they worked very hard to develop in record time, such a success,were two things:One was that we reallythoughtbig. For Gods sake, it is such abigmistakeandit was such a bigdisserviceto society to politicize something like that, to become a political statement if you want to mask or not. The company said in a press release on Monday, November, 9, 2020, that preliminary results for its RNA-type vaccine in development revealed it was . It is thatwhen it comes to leadership,peopledont know what they can and cannot do and, if anything, they have a severe tendency to underestimate what they can achieve. I would say that[for]infectious diseases,now we haveaverygood proof ofconceptthat this works to attack foreign invaders, viruses, or other microbials. Bourla said he does not have any symptoms. FREDERICK KEMPE:We all have particularly formative experiences in our lives. Bourla and the Pfizer-BioNTech team were guided by a sense of purpose to relieve the world of this terrible pandemic and the destruction it has caused. Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla on Tuesday said the company believes a COVID-19 vaccine-resistant variant will likely one day emerge, though the company has a system in place to turn around a variant . As Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Albert Bourla leads Pfizer in its purpose, Breakthroughs that change patients' lives, with a focus on driving the scientific and commercial innovation needed to have a transformational impact on human health. FREDERICK KEMPE:Youve seen,in thesetwenty-seven,twenty-eightyears at Pfizer,the company evolve. 3483. "I would like to let you know that I have tested . The leaders [behind the vaccine]: One was a Turkish Muslim that immigrated to Germany. Gardner and Tillis face tough re-election campaigns in 2020. We almost died and we survived, and look what we have now our family. And, almost too perfectly convenient, anti-Trump CEO Albert Bourla, a Greek businessman, sold 60% of his shares on the day of the vaccine announcement, as per a previously designated plan. But, it also was the result of a transformational shift within the company's culture, says Dr. Albert Bourla, the chairman and CEO of Pfizer. Youve seen the science evolve. Bourla is also a member of The Business Council and the Business Roundtable. The CEO of Pfizer on Developing a Vaccine in Record Time. From the Magazine (May-June 2021) Bryan Derballa/The New York Times/Redux. NewsNation BestReviews Nexstar Digital Journalistic Integrity Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information; THE HILL 1625 K STREET, NW SUITE 900 WASHINGTON DC 20006 | 202-628-8500 TEL | 202-628 . It was a very humbling experience to be able to do that and, literally, meet families of many leadersinthe world because, you know, we had calls evenings and nights trying to find solutions to their problems, and that was also a very humbling experience. Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said he is disappointed in the US politicization of a COVID-19 vaccine in a letter to employees. It will recognize the virus as an enemy and will create antibodies. Improvac is an immunocastration product for male pigs with the goal to reduce boar taint. They tried to do the eight years[in]eight months of development. In most of them our kids had to follow because they were born. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian "Dr Bourla indicated that they had limited flexibility. Andif Im not mistaken, mRNA vaccines had never been used for clinical use before. The US government is buying those doses from us at cost and then they are giving those doses free of charge, completely free of charge, to other countries. My ambition was to have an academic career and I was really geared towards thatPfizer Greecewas recruiting at that time,and they reached out to me to offer me a very good position in their animal health group, which in the beginning I was very reluctant to take. In January, [our entire discipline was] thinking that COVID-19is an issue that mainly concerns China, and we were very concerned because of that, because we have significant operations in China. Written by Steve Cannon for USSA News. Following this interview, the British Medical Ethics Authority determined that Pfizer violated the ethical code by misleading the public, making unsubstantiated claims, and by failing to present information in a factual and balanced way. A hundred fifty million people in the world are moving to cities every year. Clearly, there will be an issue, which is the cost, and I think thats the biggest issue that we are going to face. ALBERT BOURLA:Itsabsolutely right. And when we went to the low-income countries, we gave them a priceat cost. Now, you put a piece of the virus so that you will not get the disease, or you put the deadvirus,or you put the modified virus,or there are new technologies, but this is the fundamental[part of most vaccines], that youre putting a piece of the virus so that your body will developanimmune response. How do you in a position like your own deal with that? Albert Bourla is both the Chairman and the CEO of Pfizer. I realized that things are serious. Bourla also discusses with CNN's Richard Quest the. [22][23][24], From February 2016 to December 2017, he was group president of Pfizer Innovative Health. Thats, I think, is the biggest gift I gave them, the fact that they were exposed to different cultures, to different civilizations, to understand that diversity is very important and to understand that the world is not how it looks in New York or in Texas or in Atlanta. We knew that what weweredoingwasnot going to affect our lives. But the likely scenario is annual revaccination. There just aren't many leaders these days like Albert Bourla. By Sothe solution was to build more so that everybody can get it, and this is where we invested dramatically, and from 1.3 billion doses that we were expecting to produce towards the end of2020, in2021pretty soonin the first quarter, we raised that tothreebillion instead of 1.3 billion. Dr. Bourla, welcome to Washington Post Live. Greek veterinarian and biotechnologist Albert Bourla heads Pfizer, and Moderna 's chief medical officer, Dr. Tal Zaks, is an Israeli who received his doctorate from Ben-Gurion University of the. He established the Pfizer Artificial Intelligence Center in his hometown, directed Pfizer's participation in the Thessaloniki International Fair, is close friends with Geoffrey R. Pyatt, United States Ambassador to Greece, and he brought Pfizer's leadership team to Greece to meet with Prime Minister of Greece Kyriakos Mitsotakis. Moderna was another one, and eventually, the first success that were able to do was this product that we developed jointly with BioNTech, the COVID-19vaccine. This is disturbing, significantly, the educational system, and there are kids that will have severe symptoms [without our vaccine]". Prior to becoming chief executive officer, Bourla served as chief operating officer. But I think we will reach the normal waves of social life that you can go tothecinema, that you can go to restaurants, that wedonthave to wear a mask. The European Union placed orders. Following is the unofficial transcript of a CNBC interview with Pfizer Chairman and CEO Albert Bourla on CNBC's "Squawk Box" (M-F, 6AM-9AM ET) today, Monday, December 14 th.Following is a link to . And then number threewas thatwe need to develop a vaccine and a treatment. [We],living as a very, very small minority in Greece,wehad to learn how to be able to thrive whilewerevery, very different than everybody else. Prior to becoming chief executive officer, Bourla served as chief operating officer. But at certain times, its not that I put pressure, I lost my temper, and that I regret. [51] To benefit Greece, he organized vaccine donations, medical aid for refugees, and more than $1 million in medicine to help uninsured patients. The first thing that we discussed with Uur wasthe principles under whichweare going tooperate, and we said,itdoesntmatter who does what. The UK has now secured an extra 114 million doses of Pfizer and Moderna vaccines to be. AfricaSource That story, who can write that story and set . But that created abondingwith her as well. ALBERT BOURLA:The future of the life-science sector is brilliant. 2020 Transaction Count/Amount. Are we closer now to something regarding cancer and mRNA? Another aims to overhaul Medicare to reduce what seniors pay. And here we are. I challenged my team and I[asked]them, are you sure that you want to go with mRNA? ALBERT BOURLA:Im afraid it[caused]quite a lot of damageand particularly with us, we were targeted by a lot of, lets say, dark organizations thatyoudont really know[who owns them]. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), said earlier this month McConnell was telling Senate Republicans not to support the drug-pricing package Grassley put together with Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), his Democratic counterpart. BioNTech co-founders Uur ahin and zlem Treci joined the Atlantic Council to talk about their pursuit to develop mRNA vaccines, including the COVID-19 vaccine, and how they work on common passions as a couple. [35], In 2020, Bourla pushed Pfizer employees for the fast development of a COVID-19 vaccine in partnership with German company BioNTech, making sure it is safe and effective. The texts, which were exchanged during crucial negotiations for Covid-19 vaccines last year, have not been disclosed to the public or to an EU . Youve also learned a little bit about fake news during thisperiod of timeas well. Pfizer's CEO Albert Bourla stated this in an interview on September 6 and then reinforced it in an open letter published on October 16. It should not be like that, and it wasa very badservice to humanity. They didnt try to do the eight years,seven years of development. Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla has cancelled a planned visit to Israel as it emerged he had not been fully vaccinated against COVID because he 'didn't want to jump the line' - in a blow to his. They never[made us think]that we must pay back those that did that to us or to our family. They met after the Holocaust. Japan placed orders. We [were] moving full speed anyway ourselves and I just [needed] to let my people work without worrying about politics, and eventually we did it. So that also followed me all the way to the COVID-19vaccine. I think we believe that life will go back to the way that we knew before. Sept 24 (Reuters) - Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) Chief Executive Officer Albert Bourla said on Saturday he had tested positive for COVID-19. When the real virus comes your body is ready with antibodies soyoucan win easily the battle, or easier the battle. How damaging was this to us? We hadfifteen thousandpeople at that time, we had four manufacturing sites, and we were worried about our people and how they would be able to maintain their jobs. Heres why. He was scheduled to conduct an official visit to Israel this month . [3], Bourla was awarded the 2022 Genesis Prize for his leadership in the development of the PfizerBioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. Have you learned anything during thisperiod of timeabout whether and how one can overcome them and how did you have to work within them to navigate this period? Ive stayedtwenty-eight, so far, twenty-eightyears with thecompany,and I stayed three of them in Greece. And I tried to dothat,and it was not always easy. Top executives from five pharmaceutical companies including Pfizer Inc. and Amgen Inc. have given more than $370,000 combined to 2020 political campaigns. The idea is that you are training your body to attackthe proteinsof your tumors. You werent elected as a politician. And were there elements of that in the vaccine fight as well? There are people that are skeptical about the vaccination, andboth of themare afraid. The first one, it is, clearly, the one that stands out for me. G20 leaders can rescue low-income countries by redistributing their IMF windfall, Chilean President Sebastin Piera: COVID-19 solidarity offers hope for tackling climate change, Policy on donor acceptance and disclosure. There is going to be a huge need for good medicines. Trying to be able to prove yourself also requires that you fight for what you believe is right. He left Greece with his wife when he was 34 after a promotion within Pfizer and since then he has lived in seven different cities, in four different countries. That will end. Allergan had agreed to pay the St. Regis Mohawk Indian Tribe $15 million a year to take ownership of the patents and then sought to dismiss challenges filed by Mylan NV, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., and Akorn Inc. McConnell, Republicans seen as bulwark against price controls, Giving showcases Democrats push to lower cost of medicines. The agreement with the US government is that they can give them to whoever they wantas long asthey belong to the list of theninety-two, approximately, poorest countries in the world. We reduced that to six therapeuticareas,and we were able to become the best in each one of them. Download all contribution records for this person. [3][28][12][29], In February 2019, Bourla was one of seven CEOs in the pharmaceutical industry who participated in a hearing on prescription drug prices in the United States with the United States Senate Committee on Finance. FREDERICK KEMPE:What keeps you up at night and then what gives you the most hope, looking into the future? Below, edited for length and clarity, isBourlasconversation with Frederick Kempe, president and CEO of the Atlantic Council.