March 27, 2017 (CAMBRIDGE, MA) – Pfizer, Inc. (Pfizer) will be honored for its significant contribution and commitment to improving the competitiveness of Massachusetts as a destination for the life sciences industry with the MassBio Leading Impact Award, the trade association announced today.
Morrie Birnbaum, Pfizer’s SVP and Chief Scientific Officer for Internal Medicine, will accept the award during MassBio’s Annual Meeting on Thursday, March 30th at the Royal Sonesta Hotel, 40 Edwin Land Blvd, Cambridge, MA.
“We are deeply honored to be recognized as a core contributor to Massachusetts’s life sciences industry,” said Dr. Birnbaum. “Pfizer has steadily grown our presence in the state largely because of the richness of the biomedical ecosystem. By working together with local companies and researchers, we are able to more quickly advance scientific breakthroughs on behalf of patients across areas such as inflammation and immunology, neuroscience, metabolism and cardiovascular risk, and rare disease.”
The Leading Impact Award was developed by MassBio’s Economic Development Advisory Group (EDAG) to annually recognize significant contributions made by innovative organizations within the industry, and in the arena of property development and local, regional, and state economic development, that have successfully worked to improve the ecosystem for industry growth in Massachusetts.
With more than 2,100 colleagues throughout the state, Pfizer. is Massachusetts’ seventh largest biopharma employer. The company invests considerable resources in partnerships with universities and small biotech companies and currently has more than 100 such agreements and partnerships in the state.
Since opening in 2014, Pfizer has nearly doubled its footprint in its Kendall Square location, adding more than 300 employees and leasing space to other biotech companies. Pfizer recently broke ground on a new clinical manufacturing facility in Andover, which will lead to 75 new employees who will support manufacturing efforts.
Committed to the community, Pfizer works in collaboration with Andover schools to generate students’ interest in the sciences, through educational programming as well as a unique partnership with Andover High School’s Special Education program that allows students the opportunity to develop real-life job skills at the Andover manufacturing site. The students visit the site five days a week. Pfizer employees also participates in a mentoring program with students from Lawrence – in 2016, 100% of the participating students not only graduated from high school, but are college-bound.
Pfizer is also committed to advancing healthcare, and supports access to medicines. Recently the company awarded a $200,000 grant to the state AIDS Action Committee, which will be used to expand services for injection drug users, underscoring a dedication to addressing the opioid overdose epidemic. Pfizer also has a RxPathways program, which helps eligible patients obtain access through medicines by offering support services that include insurance counseling, co-pay help, discounted or free Pfizer medicines and more. In 2015, Pfizer helped more than 1,000 uninsured or underinsured people in Massachusetts, and provided 8,633 free or discounted prescriptions.
Pfizer is the sixth organization to receive this award. Previous winners include: Novartis (2016), Michael F. Collins, MD, FACP, UMass Medical School (2015), Governor Deval Patrick (2014), Massachusetts Biomedical Initiatives in Worcester, MA (2013) and Pfizer’s Center for Therapeutic Innovation at the Center for Life Sciences in Boston, MA (2012).
###
About MassBio
www.massbio.org
MassBio is a not-for-profit organization founded in 1985 that represents and provides services and support for the Massachusetts life sciences industry. MassBio is committed to advancing Massachusetts' leadership in the life sciences to grow the industry, add value to the healthcare system and improve patient lives. Representing more than 975+ biotechnology companies, academic institutions, research hospitals, and service organizations involved in life sciences and healthcare, MassBio works to advance policy and promote education, while providing member programs, events, industry information, and services.
About Pfizer Inc.: Working together for a healthier world ®
At Pfizer, we apply science and our global resources to bring therapies to people that extend and significantly improve their lives. We strive to set the standard for quality, safety and value in the discovery, development and manufacture of health care products. Our global portfolio includes medicines and vaccines as well as many of the world's best-known consumer health care products. Every day, Pfizer colleagues work across developed and emerging markets to advance wellness, prevention, treatments and cures that challenge the most feared diseases of our time. Consistent with our responsibility as one of the world's premier innovative biopharmaceutical companies, we collaborate with health care providers, governments and local communities to support and expand access to reliable, affordable health care around the world. For more than 150 years, we have worked to make a difference for all who rely on us. We routinely post information that may be important to investors on our website at www.pfizer.com. In addition, to learn more, please visit us on www.pfizer.com and follow us on Twitter at @Pfizer and @PfizerNews, LinkedIn, YouTube and like us on Facebook at Facebook.com/Pfizer.