What have been the main achievements for Pfizer CentreOne in 2023?

Pfizer CentreOne has been able to establish our credibility within the cell and gene space. Antibody-drug conjugates (ADC) continue to grow, and this field has certainly kept us busy. We are seeing a continuation of regionalization coming out of the pandemic where companies are localizing their supply chains and establishing a series of hubs. Pfizer CentreOne has been delighted to be invited to propose becoming one of their hubs, and we have won some of that business.

Rationalization has occurred in the CDMO space as companies are recognizing that there probably is not enough business for everything that was installed for COVID. Fortunately, companies are not retiring the new installations but are retiring some of their more dated installs which is great, especially in light of the changes required for Annex 1 compliance. How has the role of CDMOs and their relationship with customers evolved post-pandemic?

We are seeing a continued push of companies looking for CDMO services, however, they are not necessarily looking for a transactional relationship and are rather pressing for a deeper relationship – a collaboration partnership. This has led Pfizer CentreOne to define what a partnership with us looks like and how we approach a collaboration. Many companies are recognizing earlier in the process that they have to pick a marriage partner and are going into the selection process in a much more sophisticated manner. As a CDMO, we also have to ensure that whoever we partner with is someone we can be married to. The dating period is significantly more exploratory than it used to be and the engagement period – setting up the contract - is greatly focused on collaborative approaches, balance and alignment, and fairness in both directions. What prompted this shift in customer demand for choosing a collaborative partner at the earlier stages?

We saw a significant amount of retail investment before COVID, and there was more money than good projects. During COVID, this over-investment of retail money departed, and funding went back to practiced investing. This drove the finance community to ensure that they have good risk mitigations in place to get to their expected ROI, and to achieve this, they have to choose partners who understand that the path to approval is never linear, and who know how to handle the zigs and zags along the way. This has been beneficial for a company like Pfizer CentreOne as we are our own innovative pharma company and there are not too many hurdles, disruptions, risks, and impacts on the pathway to approval that we have not already had to solve. In what therapeutic areas do you see the most growth for Pfizer CentreOne going forward?

We anticipate significantly more growth in ADC than we would have thought five years ago. In terms of gene therapy, we are still seeing a developing marketplace and there is a tremendous amount of sophistication on the part of the innovators, more so than what I have ever seen previously in a platform. We are early in the cycle, and we need to continue to let that pipeline flow through. Looking at biologics, we are seeing significant opportunities in both the mammalian and microbial space. Most of it is going into injectables, and it is about trying to figure out how do we risk mitigate the supply chain, what is the right scale to produce at, what is the most efficient way to package - whether it is in vial, frozen bag, or room temperature prefilled syringes – and how do we optimize it for administration. What are Pfizer CentreOne’s main priorities in 2024?

Pfizer CentreOne is focused on helping our customers on their journey as the gene therapy and biologic space, in general, continues to develop and mature. Another big focus of the company will be finding ways to tackle drug shortages, bringing our capabilities to the table to assist companies in getting medicines to market and patients. We will also be reviewing our business practices to identify areas where we can further support our customers. By addressing these areas, we can enhance our team's efficiency and foster better collaboration with our partners.