Pfizer wins the “Most Innovative Product” award from general practitioners, practitioners and internists for its COVID-19 drug Paxlovid®. In the inter-specialist ranking “Best Pharmaceutical Companies Germany” 2022, Pfizer comes in 5th place in the category “research-based, world-leading pharmaceutical companies by sales” this year, moving up 5 places compared to the previous year. The first places in the category went to Janssen-Cilag, Novartis and Bayer Vital/Jenapharm.
In the Pharma Trend 2022 survey, the specialist group of general practitioners, practitioners and internists (APIs) voted the antiviral Paxlovid® as the most innovative product for the treatment of COVID-19. With 35% approval, the oral drug from Pfizer relegated the likewise antiviral Lagevrio® from MSD to third place. 6% of the respondents opted for Lagevrio®. For the GPs who are confronted with COVID patients on a daily basis, the most important criteria for the award were the novelty of a drug on the market (62%) in combination with an innovative mode of action (61%). Comirnaty® from BionTech/Pfizer came second in the overall evaluation with 13% of the votes, although the vaccine is not used for treatment but for prevention of the disease.
It started with Karl “Charles” Pfizer
Pfizer Inc., based in New York City, is by far the world’s largest pharmaceutical company in terms of sales, with revenues of USD 81.288 billion in 2021. The almost doubled sales (+95 %) compared to the previous year are due to the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine Comirnaty – jointly developed and marketed with BioNTech. Excluding the vaccine and the new Covid 19 drug Paxlovid, sales were $44.4 billion, still up 6% from the previous year.
Founded in 1849 by two Germans in New York, the company employed around 79,000 people worldwide in 2021 (2015: 97,000). It was not until 1958 that the first Pfizer subsidiary was founded in Germany. Pfizer Pharma GmbH employs 2,500 people, distributed between the head office in Berlin, the sales department for Germany in Karlsruhe and the globally important production site in Freiburg.
The Pfizer Biopharmaceuticals Group (PBG) is focused on the development, approval and launch of novel medicines, vaccines and biosimilars. Pfizer’s research and therapeutic areas cover broad areas of internal medicine, oncology, neurology, infectious diseases and immunology, as well as vaccines and rare diseases.
The most important sales driver in 2021 was the COVID-19 vaccine Comirnaty® with revenues of USD 36.78 billion. This was followed by the oral anticoagulant Eliquis® (stroke, thrombosis) with USD 5.97 billion, Ibrance® (breast cancer) with USD 5.44 billion, the pneumococcal vaccine Prevenar13® with USD 5.3 billion and 5 other blockbusters with sales above the billion mark (Xeljanz®, Vyndaqel®, Enbrel®, Xtandi®, Inlyta®).
Pfizer sold 200 million doses of Comirnaty® in 2021 at a not-for-profit price to the US government, which wants to give them to Africa and other countries. Pfizer’s promise is to give one billion doses to low- and middle-income countries in 2021 and 2022.
Pfizer’s generics division, Upjohn, merged with Mylan in 2019, which is now part of the US company Viatris.
In 2021, the Group invested approximately USD 13.83 billion in research and development, representing 17% of sales. There are 28 compounds in phase 3 trials (as of July 2022), including 10 oncology products and 6 vaccines.
Pfizer developed sustainability initiatives (“Green Journey”) in research and production. The Pfizer Foundation supports health-related projects worldwide. Pfizer pursues a diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programme.
Paxlovid®: The most innovative product of general practitioners
The specialist group of general practitioners, practitioners and internists (APIs) voted the antiviral Paxlovid® 2022 as the most innovative product for the treatment of COVID-19. For the GPs confronted with COVID patients on a daily basis, the novelty of a drug on the market combined with an innovative mode of action were the most important criteria. Paxlovid® scored very well here with 71% and 66% respectively. Comirnaty® from BionTech/Pfizer came second in the overall evaluation with 13% of the votes, although the vaccine is not used for treatment but for prevention of the disease.
In Pharma Trend, Pfizer has long been one of the most sustainable and innovative pharmaceutical companies in Germany. The research-based company last received the award for “The Most Innovative Product” from gastroenterologists in 2019 with the Xeljanz®.
Multiple awards for Pfizer for innovation and sustainability
Since the start of the Pharma Trend benchmark study in 2000, Pfizer has already received the “Golden Tablet” award for innovation and sustainability four times. Pfizer received the award “The Most Innovative Product” for the first time in 2000 for Viagra®, in 2003 for Zeldox®, in 2007 for Sutent® and in 2010 for Prevenar 13®. Eliquis® followed in 2015, Xeljanz® in 2019 and Paxlovid® in 2022.
Awards for innovation and sustainability since 2000:
- The Golden Tablet (2007, 2005 – 2003)
- Viagra® (2002 – 2000)
- Zeldox® (2003)
- Sutent® (2007)
- Prevenar 13® (2010)
- Eliquis® (2015)
- Xeljanz® (2019)
- Paxlovid® (2022)
