[Desk] R&D capabilities and Moonshot

Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla introduced Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine development process through a recently published book called "Moonshot." Every step from the decision to develop a COVID-19 vaccine to clinical trials, large-scale production, and transportation was close to impossible, and it created a miracle with prepared R&D capabilities and judgment.

 

In April 2020, Pfizer's researchers shared an aggressive plan to complete phase 3 clinical trials of the COVID-19 vaccine by the second half of 2021.

 

But CEO Albert Bourla told employees, "We have to make a vaccine by October this year.

 

And by next year, hundreds of millions of times, not tens of millions, should be able to be vaccinated," he said, calling for faster development of the COVID-19 vaccine.

 

In a pandemic situation that the world has not experienced in 100 years, the CEO's bold drive alone did not produce successful results.

 

The long-established R&D capabilities led to successful results in adventures that were considered near impossible.

 

Pfizer has partnered with BioNTech two years ago to develop a flu vaccine using mRNA technology.

 

It made bold investments in adventures that were not guaranteed success.

 

Pfizer promised to pay $72 million in advance to BioNTech, an additional $563 million (680 billion won) depending on its performance, and purchased some of BioNTech's shares for $113 million (140 billion won).

 

Pfizer and BioNTech agreed to share all development costs and profits from commercialization in half, but Pfizer decided to pay the entire development cost first.

 

If the development of the mRNA COVID-19 vaccine fails, Pfizer is responsible for all losses, but if the vaccine development succeeds, it was an exceptional condition that BioNTech returned the development cost to Pfizer in the future.

 

Pfizer's entire staff mobilized all their capabilities.

 

In order to increase the success rate and speed of the development of the COVID-19 vaccine, clinical trials were conducted on various candidate materials at the same time, and the first inoculation was achieved 269 days after the development began.

 

Pfizer compared the challenge of developing a COVID-19 vaccine to Moonshot, which originally means launching a lunar probe.

 

This means that the development of the COVID-19 vaccine was an adventure that deserves to be evaluated as the greatest challenge in history.

 

Last year, Pfizer's global sales nearly doubled from the previous year to $81.3 billion.

 

It raised 44 trillion won only with COVID-19 vaccines and treatments.

 

Multinational pharmaceutical companies that have succeeded in developing COVID-19 vaccines such as Moderna, AstraZeneca, and Johnson & Johnson have also realized high performance.

 

R&D capabilities were compensated by financial performance.

 

In Korea, SK Bioscience's long-standing know-how in vaccine development led to improved performance.

 

SK Bioscience's sales amounted to 929 billion won last year, more than quadrupled from 225.6 billion won in 2020.

 

Operating profit soared 12 times from 37.8 billion won to 474.2 billion won.

 

SK Bioscience has invested a total of 400 billion won since 2008 to develop vaccines.

 

L HOUSE, a vaccine factory built in Andong, Gyeongsangbuk-do in 2012, is a key infrastructure for SK Chemical's next-generation vaccine business.

 

Since its launch, Samsung BioLogics has also built the world's largest biopharmaceutical factory with vigorous investment and has achieved the results of consignment production of Modena's COVID-19 vaccine as well as antibody treatments from multinational pharmaceutical companies.

 

Of course, domestic companies did not achieve phenomenal results such as Pfizer and Moderna, but they also contributed to the domestic supply of COVID-19 vaccines and were compensated for their performance through prepared biopharmaceutical manufacturing know-how.

 

Many domestic pharmaceutical bio companies are still focusing their R&D capabilities on developing global new drugs as well as COVID-19 vaccines and treatments.

 

If R&D capabilities are quietly expanded and efficient investments are made, it is hoped that domestic companies will be able to achieve Moonshot someday.