Transcripts For CSPAN2 Dr. Albert Bourla Moonshot Virtual 20220819

It is my pleasure to introduce today, dr. Albert. Berla the chairman and ceo of fiser nowadays a household name in the last couple of years, dr. Berla has worked at fisa for more than 25 years and has become the companys ceo in january of 2019 right before the pandemic. So the timing was pretty incredible there and his new books called moonshot inside pfizers nine month race to make the impossible possible. It really takes us behind the scenes during the pandemic the Historic Development the testing and manufacturing of the companys Covid Vaccine dr. Birla recently named the ceo of the year by cnn business and the 2022 genesis prize laureate. Well be discussing a lot in the next hour, but its not gonna be a conversation between the doctor and i we would like everyone on this call on the zoom on youtube to also participate. Let us know your questions that you have for albert berla and i will try to ask and get to as many of them. So please go on the chat function. In and being engaged with this conversation, we would appreciate that dr. Birla. First of all, welcome. Nice to have you here of the Commonwealth Club. I got asked i read the book. Its fantastic. It was beyond a business book. It really kind of took me behind the scenes of what happened with pfizer and how the salt came about also a real nice glimpse into your personal life and your professional life. My first question. How the heck did you find time to write a book during youve been doing lately . Thats a good point. And you know, i had the a lot of motivation i wanted to do it. I had people that were pushing me to meet timelines. So for a change i was not the one to push but i was one to be pushed. And i also felt that. I will actually the chapters were running very quickly. I would go three or four days and drive one chapter doing nothing else and then of course, i would be busy with Everything Else until i find some another two or three days to wrap that the other chapter why write it in here. What was your goal, what was your point and and you happy with the finished product . Yeah, you know they vents that happened during those nine months changed the course of history. And i know that history is written by many. Different points of you and i wanted to make sure that i set the record the way that i felt was happening. So that was a very big part of my motivation. The other one was also that because of of me being the face the face of the company all the spotlights were on me, and that was not the one that did eventually were thousands of people that work on this project but maybe 30 or 40 but really led this project. And all of them i was afraid that their names will be lost. In history, and i want to make sure that i live a record of what michael did and what catherine did and what everyone in this book that i described what was exactly what they did. It is phenomenal. Youre right. It is a part of our history that were still living through at what point a personal question here. What point will we digest . Will you digest what exactly that youve done and that weve all been through globally in these last two years. Its a good question because still im trying to digest it and clearly i think it was something that not only saved. A lot of lives not only was able to generate significant economic value in the us only its estimated vaccinations in 2021 contributed 2. 5 points of gdp. Its a huge and 10 million hospitalizations were avoided but beyond that i think what this achievement did to the world was that it was a victory of hope against darkness. It was brought back the feeling that human ingenuity can make a difference. It was what brought together again after maybe a year or two grandparents were grandchildren. This is i think the biggest impact that we had. Into the world, and im very proud of it. I know that your ceo of a high profile company, but is it uncomfortable for you . Has it been because youve also suffered gone through some criticism here has been uncomfortable to be a public figure so to speak its not necessarily what you signed up for. No, it is it wasnt it is uncomfortable and to the degree that i can have a positive inlet and continue doing it and being out there and speak because i think comes with a territory, but clearly that also has in addition to the glory that brings and i know that the majority of the people they think of me and the fiser like kind of heroes but there is a part also the people that they they see on us the enemy and because they dont believe that the vaccine was the the way to go and that has created significant issues on me and my family. Threats to your safety as well, i believe. Or yes. Yes everything that you can imagine, but also who have been victims of of misinformation according to several of these websites. I was arrested with from fbi. And of course i was not and i laughed only because the previous one that was arrested by fbi was the pope. According to the same website and one of them published that my wife died. And she died after i forced her to take the vaccine, which he didnt want to do and died from complications of the vaccination. Now you can imagine me trying to find my kids to let them know that what youre going to read in the internet is not right. Believe me. Your mom is good or her parents. So yeah, its a lot of hardships that comes with this publicity and its it was pretty candid revealing you writing about many of these issues in the book as well you write that you challenged your team to make the impossible possible. Thats thats the title of your book as well. It sounds good for a book and a pr team, but theres has to been there must have been some dark times there people even in your own building that the challenge you and and didnt believe in what was happening. There were two different dimensions one was that and that eventually although looked to me the most difficult i was able to to accomplish very pretty soon. I convinced everyone that we can do it. And the way to devours by convincing them that there is no option dont even think of failing because theres not this option doesnt exist. The world will not be the same black. We know it if we fail because if not ask them. Who how did you communicate that because obviously now were all working virtual. It was this over a zoom call. I mean, how do you communicate because i know youre youre a guy that a leader that wants to touch and feel and see body language of people. Yeah, it was all through zoom calls through webex calls, and it was thank god most of the people that we were working. I knew them very well so that helped a lot, but they were also several people, but first time i started working with them they were introduced to me as people dont members of one lab or another function and we were working together on that. And we all learned that thats not an obstacle. We can do it we can see we can we can we can feel the reactions of the other by watching on on their face and their body language. For Business Leaders or any type of leaders watching this right now. Whats your guidance . Whats your what would be your advice of how to motivate a team . I will tell you one thing. I think that. Everyone needs to find the way to be able to motivate according to the purpose of what they want them to do, but there are two things that i would say one it is. Always be offending. People they have a unique capability to understand when you dont mean what you say. And you wont be able to to hide that. So just tell them everything. The second thing it is that people have a tendency to underestimate. What they can and what they cannot do. Usually they have actually tenders to think that they cannot do it. They dont know that. And you dont know that and you will be surprised if you ask them to do things that they look impossible how much close if not make it happen. They will come. Did you have an aha moment of when this all was actually gonna work and what was that moment . Frankly, the moment was when i learned what it worked. Because we had the way that the drug discovered and Development Works is that you do your best. To discover the best possible candidate that you think will do the job and then you run a phase three study now, we are all familiar with this terminology that it is the final say once you enter into the stud. You cannot change anything. All you have to wait is the study to be completed and see if it works or not. Its designed to prove with beyond doubts if it works or not, so it was only at that time that i felt that okay, we have it. All the way up to there there was it was a very complicated project. So there were moments of immense satisfaction, but we always also moments that it was detrimental to our moral because we felt that it was a disaster and that. Could kill the project it was several times that i felt that we the end of that project and maybe describe one of those times was that it was it a phone call to you or zoom called. They said dr. Burles. This is not happening. The information was flowing to me either by email or by phone or by zoom calls. I have very frequent calls, and it was not one or second two moments. So there are moments that they were communicated to me by phone or by email or by zoom, but they were moments that i think we cannot make it. We we manufacture it and the studies running, but i dont think we have a manufacturing process so we can make for example, and then maybe at that point when he got that information for you. What was your next visit why you cannot make it and lets go back and see what can be done in the eventually. The the issues were overcome. And or we cant we we found a sign that the product would not be stable unfortunately will after a month in the vial could disintegrate and whether youre talking about and then were trying to find solutions and then eventually so there were were so many things like that. That we felt that if they hold true thats the end. But which could describe the ups and downs that were living but eventually we had a warriors attitude. Everybody was moving under the failure is not an option. So its not that i did whatever i can i failed at the end of the world the way we know it i was telling them so we need to go ahead and then we did they did not i did we did they did and then that aha moment, i believe it was what november 9th of 2020 9 for you november 8 for me. Yeah and a very small group of people that we im blinded the data. Everything was blinded. Everything was hidden in codes and security passwords as always with drug development. Nobody knows and actually nobody can go and see you need several people to be able to to get into their password so that the database can be unlocked. And this is when we did that we ran the analysis and then i received the call or a video call and this is that you write in the book that you what you went to the small Conference Room and somewhere in connecticut and you all came together as a team in person, which was shocking at that point and im actually i realized when i went there. Let them with michael who is the head of our r d. It was the first time that i met him. Since here and a half or whatever and it felt like that i was with him because i was with him on videos every day 10 times a day for every day and but sudden we realized do you know that is the first time that we meet in person . We talked about here. You say we succeeded not because we were lucky but because we were prepared. That thats thats a bold statement and a company your size. By it is bold and i truly believe it. I think that we were preparing for a moment like that. We didnt know it. About the visa will be the moment. But we have started in transformation of pfizer two years earlier by a year and a half earlier by dive investing other businesses increasing dramatically around the expenses building new labs increasing dramatically our digital expenses bringing ai so all of that digitizing our Clinical Program all of that were part of developing an infrastructure that we found it extremely handy when we had to use it to develop in a record time a lifesaving vaccine, but i think the biggest thing that drove to this success was that. For two years a year and a half. We were discussing what the culture of a Winning Research company should be. And we had come with some with some values that obsessively started following. The value of corrects the value of equity and without them. I dont think we would be able when we were challenged to do the impossible possible to be able to be successful. So we had the right infrastructure the right people and the right mindset the right and when you say divest other things in your portfolio or the company, i mean big brands, i know advil. I mean remind me of all the brands that youve kind of put to the side you never advice lipitor hartville top stick syndrome, the iconic brands of visor that were not anymore Research Driven was marketing driven and almost 25 of their revenues. And we diverted all of that and then we stayed at 25 revenues. Smaller company but everything or almost everything that we had driven by highend science. Why partner by with bayonetech . I know you you said the yet a special relationship. In fact, your humor comes out in the book about you say, you know, youre the extroverted greek, and you combined with an introverted turkish muslim the one of the bionic executives there. Yes, and how sometimes history play play games and it was the perfect i think storm for us the perfect combinations and biotech we decided first to go with mrna that was before he decided to go with and i had asked our team and to come with proposals how to develop successful vaccine against the coronavirus and they came to me saying we should do it with mrna. Well in our case we could choose any other technology because you were a very good in adenoviruses. We were mastering protein vaccines. Im rna actually was the counterintuitive. Option because we were working only to years on that since 2018. And there was no. Time in history, but mrna delivered anything as a product. So when they told me that i was surprised and then i challenged a lot. But theyre conviction was very high and they convinced him. So for us it was if we were deciding to go mrna biotech was the obvious partner and actually biotech had already reached out to us to ask also for a part and supply that at the same time. I was asking our team what technology you think we should be using so we knew biotech because you were working together with them on mrna on a flu vaccine. And we knew that there are fantastic partner and we knew that the technology is ready to deliver a vaccine because of what we had seen during our work with flu. So we made the move so by going with mrna and correct me if im wrong. You really went with the long shot the moonshot here in in terms of it by farther. It was the one that could give theoretically the best possible product. But the one that was by far the most risky. Theres so much of this thats politically driven and regardless of what side the aisle that youre in or on. Were you surprised that still to this day that politics are driving much of whats happening with the pandemic . Yes, i was surprised i knew that the healthcare issues are always at the forefront of the political debate. And with a pandemic like that that clearly creates lets say uncertainties and and anxieties that will be magnified through the political debate, but i was thinking that because of the magnitude of of the threat that this pandemic was was representing for the world that politicians also were stand to their will do that. I think and lets say well leave things out of political trying to politically utilize it because that was existential threat for the the way that we know civilization now, so i was surprised that eventually they didnt have there are critics like you said at the beginning of this of this segment and there still are talking about theres ulterior motives or pfizer pfizers profits went from i believe nine billion and 2020 to almost two and a half acts to 21 billion last year your own salary 20 plus million. Do you get offended at this or is this part of the job now . Oh each part of the job and im not offended at all and whatever you do in this world. There will be people that recognize your efforts and people that they dont at large pfizers reputation has skyrocketed. It was not very good before the pandemic because it was driven done by the overall better would have the pharmaceutical industry. And it is now among the best in the world. Im very cognizant that reputation. Comes to someone in drops, but you can lose it in buckets, and im very confident what we enjoy right now, which is the love at admiration of the vast majority of the citizens of the world. All seven and a half billion can go easily down if we do the right things if we dont do the right things, and im im treasuring this asset that we have that People Like Us in time really committed the same is everyone in fiser to always do the right thing so that we maintain that at the very high level we talk about the seven billion people across the world. Is there a way and i know that pfizer in terms of the Vaccine Equity youre charging it at cost to the poor nations. Is there a way to to get it to those poor nations because i know its not just the vaccine but its the distribution. Its the infrastructure. Is there a way that pfizer and thats not what your business does but is there a way you can partner with someone or lead the charge say we need to get it into these countries and improve their infrastructure so we can provide them with those vaccines. We must find ways to do that right now the obstacle for the poorest part of the world to vaccinate. Yes. A richest parts of the world did it is not vaccines availability and it is not logistics to work since to arrive there, but it is infrastructure as you said to administer the vaccines over there. There are no vaccinations centers. In one thing it is to to drive 15 minutes to to the cvs or walgreens of your neighborhood to get a vaccine and vaccine the other thing it is if you have to walk one day to go somewhere to get a vaccine in africa, so its a very different the conditions that theyre living and so one thing it is to have a population. That is maybe 20 are afraid of the vaccine or there are skeptical about its value. And another thing to be in africa where it is the reverse 80 of the population. They dont think that they need any vaccine. Christensen is very high at that level so that energy and we missed an opportunity to educate people we missed an opportunity to develop some very basic infrastructure. Theyre not they are not in need of huge buildings or hospitals or equipment. They just need a tent and one person that knows how to administer vaccines around the countries very basic things, but we could have achieved if our effort and focus was there. Unfortunately again, the effort was on politics. Why dont you give to the poor countries instead of preparing with education those countries once the vaccines will be available, which i was promising the world that will be that they can absorb. Were getting a lot of questions for dr. Albert berla here on our on our chat. Lets get to one of them from our viewers. What is the one thing that you hope that readers will take away from your book albert . I would use one the readers will see that in every chapter. I have have a greek quote and or its not a record. Its a quote from a greek philosopher. I think what the speaks more to the spirit of what made this this moon so possible it is a quote from aristotle that says our problem is not that we aim too high and miss. Our problem is that we aim too low and hit. And i think this is a wonderful wonderful way to communicate that you can only achieve things only if you think big. At the same time communicate that the problem that youre facing. It is adherence to mediocracy that you are achieving very low goals and we are happy about it it rather than setting the bar high. Of course well said you have privy and access to the best researchers obviously within your own company and with other companies. Whats next here . Where do you forecast the next six to 12 months specifically . Look clearly there are two things one is covid specific and the other is in General Health specific. Let me start with covid. I think there is a lot of work right now to try to stay ahead of the virus as the virus is is mutating constantly and creating with the issues . But also there is a very concerted effort. To go to something even better and next generation something that right. Now the goal is to be able to just with one dose to maintain at least a year. Of protection so that you dont have to go through this situation that every six months or every time that the variant changes we have to switch and get another shot. People will get tired with this and the compliance right then the numbers of people that will comply with this recommendation will go down. So this is what we are doing when it comes to to covid the second thing that were doing when it comes to covid it is treatments. I think the real game changer now even more than the vaccine at this presence situation. It is easily available oral treatments because that means that the people that will get sick either because they are not vaccinated or because they were unfortunate at least they know that its not going to be a threatening or reduce the chances that their life will be threatened or they have to stay outside the workforce for two weeks, or they will suffer the consequences of wrong coffee, which is a very very big is and the pills right now are available and we are working to make sure but they will be easy for everyone to together. But that will take also its us to speak about other health features. I truly think but we are entering a period of a scientific renaissance. Is going to be a period where major im needs in medical sphere and met medical needs will find solutions that we couldnt get all the years before and it is because of advances in biology, but at the same time advances in technology. And the two of them they are coming together to produce dramatically synergistic effects. Artificial intelligence in Drug Discovery will replace discovery with design. Its not going to be any more Drug Discovery. Its going to be drug design. And we will be able to have a Clinical Trials that are happening in silico. So those things will help us to to advance in in a way more exponential way. And science and find solutions to cancer and many other diseases. You want to break some news here on the Commonwealth Club. Are you on the verge of announcing Something Big . Im afraid. Hes not going to be like tomorrow as a result. We announced the cure of cancer, but its going to be a decade. That a lot of the diseases that when that way the disease heat map the reds if you should will be very very different at the end of the decade. We talk about whats happening right now. And whats happening in the near future with perhaps once a year shots or Something Like that. Theyre still about a third of americans that are not vaccinated. How do we convince that third which is a sizable part of our country to get on board here. Yes, i think will be difficult. I think those people are afraid. And in fact, the more we insist. On them and we exercise pressure to see them vaccinated when you are afraid and they are forcing you to do something with your afraid, you know, you can respond very emotionally. So i think this is the situation what we are experiencing right now. I found that the best way to try to convince those people. Its not by using rational because the fear is making you irrational. Its not look the data. The majority of people that are dying around vaccinated etc. This doesnt work anymore with them. It is more to use another emotion, which is stronger than fear and thats love. And for human beings and the way i talked to them it is to tell them that your decision to vaccinate or not. Were not affect on your life will affect the lives of others and predominantly the life of people you love the most. The grandpa the grandmom the kids the father of his underlying heart conditions. They are the ones that if you dont get vaccinated you have a high chance to transfer to them the virus and they that can be detrimental for them. And thats the only thing that works i think right now. For those remain here not to that have remained despite the pressure on vaccinated right now and you see still have the politics of shaping out. Its a lot different here in california different on the east coast different in florida, but when you meet with politics, and i know you you know, you you met with a lot of white house leaders from the Previous Administration and the Current Administration. Are they making progress that you think is is good progress. Look, i dont think theyre making progress in living that outside of politics. Unfortunately, and clearly i think the number of people that would be on vaccinated is a vaccinated would be way lower. If that was not embedded in the political debate. And because that confused a lot of people and we leave this situation, but were in order to mask is a political statement if you are left or right if you are a public or or democrats has nothing to do it is about prudent healthcare measures the same is with vaccinations to a certain degree if we didnt have that things would be way better. We are taking off our mass now across the countrys flights will soon require us not to wear masks anymore or give us that option. We is there a possibility in your mind that at the end of the year we could be putting mass back on we we digress. I hope not. I think that right now there is so much you can do with public. Distance with lets say social distancing Public Health measures measures that affect the fundamentals of human behavior, and we have recently say the limit. I think slowly slowly. You need to relax them. Its not only because people are tired, which is a very big part of the equation because when they are tired, not do it but also because right now we have way significant tools in our hands a very big part of the population is vaccinated not as much as we want it, but we have 75 even more if you count the eligible people right that they are vaccinated who have treatments but if you get the disease you are not going to end up in hospital or high level of probability that you will end up in hospital will be very low level of probability that you will end up in hospital. So with all of that, i think we can start relaxing the measures. And what i hope will not happen it is that still people will go and maintain their immune protection by getting their their vaccine and then still when they have a symptoms they will check themselves to see if it discovery so they can get the treatment if we do those simple things. I think we can live their lives the way we used to. I ask this representing all the parents with young kids, which is me as well. I have a four year old at what point will my four year old daughter be eligible to get this vaccine and we close whether its visor or another company. I think we are close. I think next month. We will have our data. Im blinded so that we will know what we have. We hope that we will have we know that we have a safe vaccine because thats very easy to to detect what is im blind it is to see how effective it is. I hope we have a very effective vaccine if thats true and my hopes are materialized. Then we will finally immediately end fda. Im sure that they will do it the review very quickly and we will be ready to with my we are ready already with manufacturers have already manufactured quantities, but if its approved it will make them available. Was there a setback because initially we thought for the for the younger kids would be able to do it by march right now and then it kind of got delayed what happened . Yeah, we were asked by fda to submit a date on the second dose. We know that this will be for omicron. We need three doses to be successful. Its the same for kids and it is the same for adults. We know that this is the case. However, omicron affected this proportional younger kids. Although the previous variance were less severe the previous were more severe to adults and this one is less severe the omega that was not the case for kids for kids. A lot of them got infected and they ended up in hospital. So there was a lot of pressure for pediatrician. Maybe we start with the two doses until we get the results of the third. So why dont we submit the date on the second those waiting, but we knew that theyre good waiting to see the data on the third dose. So that was what confused people eventually we felt that we better wait because transparency and full set of data is very important and you know, it was coming in a few weeks time. So instead of mars now will come in april and we will have a full set of good data set that everybody can see transparently and then the parents will believe more. Okay very well. Okay. Were getting a lot of Great Questions here. Lets this albert one of the companies the questions here. How did three companies that manufacture the Covid Vaccine agree to Work Together good questions big business here. A look. I think the whole industry worked together. For example, we formed a partnership with biotech. Will then be able to do it alone environment wouldnt be able to do it alone . I think but theyre not former partnership with with the Us Government and nia its helped them to do the vaccine oxford for partnership with astrazeneca to do their own vaccine irrelevant who was successful or not. There was a lot of collaboration that was forced. Ourselves are manufacturing. We started manufacturing very early days the ziliate antiviral very few. People know but delay didnt have the capacity to do that much immediately, and we discussed and we offer and we start manufacturing for them. So there was a lot of good collaboration about it. I think also though that competition also help. Because its very clear that the scientists of moderna wanted to be first the scientists of fiser. Wanted to be first and thats a good thing because eventually whoever was the first came faster than if we were to operate alone. Is this a business book . I know this is a book about pfizer and taking us behind the scenes of how you made this breakthrough, but this is also a business book that could be transferred to Different Industries i think so. I think that the there are reading what happened one can draw lessons that may apply or not. To his or her own situation in their own Business Environment in crisis or not. And so its always good. To learn how other people resolved difficult problems you talked about one thing that that stood out to me about many things that stood out to me in the book when when during the Trump Administration about Jared Kushner who was asking to deliver perhaps change the delivery to prioritize the United States ahead of some other countries. Can you describe that . What transpired . Yes, Jared Kushner. Called me and got involved in discovery thing late and quite late in the game. I think it was already generally it was after the elections. He knew that they are living maybe december or january. And his intention was that to increase the quantities that of vaccines that the us will receive the us could sign a contract with us of 100 Million Dollars at that time. Europeans had signed 200 million doses when the us signed the contract i told them repeatedly are you sure you dont want to make 200 Million Dollars . This is how much europeans are get we are so redone. Then things read out we were successful others were in. They wanted more and but we didnt have because we had almost sold out everything to the situation. So in any case we agreed that we will provide hundred additional billion doses and the beginning jared was very helpful. I have to say in terms that there was a lot of unreasonable things that the bureaucracy was setting as to how to sign a contra we told them look the next hundred million doses. We have a contract took us monster negotiated. Lets add 100 million doses in the annex. Whatever is the contractor. They were saying you know the first one there was for a concept the product was not approved now it is approved. So needs to be different contacts. So this type of things that were delaying things and he was very helpful to resolve a lot of that but then he wanted all 100 million doses immediate. And then i thought we dont have immediately sold. So no everything that is made in us states in the us that i cannot do that. Because we are only making in the us and in europe, so we cannot just give to us and europe. We need to give to the whole world. There is no other place. I hear you, but i care for americans. So that was basically the disagreement eventually we were able to find quantities because increased production way more and eventually we ended up in a positive note. Thats the Previous Administration now with President Biden and his his administration. Whats your biggest challenge with this Current Administration . And what what do you hope that would be better . Look how silence is not the administrations. Our challenge is the virus. The biggest challenge is omicron that came and changed completely the whole planning. I was certain that after doing the third dose. We will go to here early re vaccinations suddenly omicron comes and the whole thing the whole world comes upside down. Everybodys trying to do the best and the same is with the Us Government and i think they are very competent people that they know exactly and their stuff is just that a lot of the decisions are not black and white in the gray zone, and its not very clear which way will be the optimal way to go so they have to make choices like all of us when we have to deal with difficult situations. I think theyre doing very well frankly. One of the questions now from our viewers. Do you feel the United States will soon approve recommend that fourth shot like israel has done. I think we will submit. I think we have a quite compelling data about it. I think there is a need and i cant speak about them if they will approve it or not. They have to see it first and then base of what they see they will make their decision of what i know is that we will provide date. I still the premise of one of the biggest premises of this book was still it usually takes eight to 10 years correct to get something approved and tested and manufactured yet. It took pfizer and these other companies months. How can you succinctly summarize why that happened how that happened . First of all is not by we didnt try to improve the current processes of doing things. We had to reinvent them. If i was asking the people to make instead of 10 years 8 they will try to do it by improving the current process if you ask them to do it in eight months. They have to think completely out of the box same is with manufacturing. I think it was second miracle the manufacturing yearly pfizer was making 200 Million Dollars of vaccines every year. So i asked him not to make 300 of the new vaccine, but they never made still they would try to do it within the book asking to make three billion dollars of these vaccine so they had to reinvent everything. So thats a very very big part. You need to think from scratch and redesign everything reengineer everything and then the second is you need to really to do things in parallel and really to to believe that nothing is impossible. So a lot of ideas are rejected without really going into try and find ways to materialize them just because too early we say its impossible why to lose my time to do that . But if someone doesnt let you go and tell you no no. Find the way to do it then find the way to do it. Then you are forced to go inside this idea that works impossible and suddenly you find ways that you can do it and this is what happened any employees walk out or did you escort anyone out who didnt want to comply no, no, we didnt have that and in fact, everybody worked extremely extremely extremely diligently they all wanted the best. Even those that they felt that cannot be done. They are the ones that eventually made it done and you know, once they the first month when so many things that were thinking are yeah impossible we were made possible that created a very different mindset in the remaining eight months. So the same people were trying to having this attitude in every obstacle. We were facing in front of us albert era essentially a visor life for 1993. I think you you joined the company are you burned out . Is this your swan song now or even reinvigorated . I think im reinvigorate every year and i think that every year im becoming better manageable better Better Business person the year that i will feel that the end of the year. I am at the same level like in the beginning. I will know its the year i have to go. And so far, i think im learning. What do you want to do next whether its within the company or outside the company outside of this book . You know, what i would like to do is to see grant children, but im not sure that my kids are very much in urgency in giving me that but other than that, i dont know friends a lot of things that can keep me intellectually stimulated. We got a glimpse into your personal life in this book, which is really nice of kind of how things shaped your life and your professional career from your parents. I know your mother, you know in a neardeath experience and also your kids does a personal life shape a professional life. Always and with each one of us and not only the personal life, but i think the family is what builds the personality and the character for each one of us and for every one of us. The family has an impact positive or negative not always positive. But has a severe impact and that follows us for the remaining of our lives and dictates the way that we think and act. When you talk about your parents and your and your kids is that part of the culture that you also bring in to pfizer. Yes, i think me coming from south Europe Clearly the family ties are i wouldnt say closer. Everybody has closed family ties are more invasive one is going into the to the life of the other myself. I felt it was the best thing that happened to me that my kids had to come back from college and live with me for nine months, right . I dont think it was the same for every parent and i know that it was the same for my kids. They didnt like it. But for me was the big reward, i i yeah, im close to my family and my friends. Ask questions from our viewers now was mapping the human genome project at genome project the beginning of so many medical drug breakers here. Absolutely, but its i think the biggest breakthrough of the last lets 20 years. Is that one . As we start to wrap this up now comes and what this is where it comes also the Technology Maturation because one thing it is to be able to unlock the human genome. But the human genomics billions of billions and billions billions of information just by itself. So its impossible to process it without the advances that we have in technology. So the two of them is what will bring the source. Albert, how were you sourcing your talent now, youre up and coming researchers and scientists. Where are they coming from specifically in one geographic spot or how do you find your your top people . I think in in size if you see start from the top if you see our leadership team. Its so diverse so many immigrants to start with there are more the immigrants than the native war so many diversity. We have four or five religions in our then 11 members of the alt right . We have we have men and women we have every type of diverse. I think its important that you have people from diverse background so that the synthesis of their ideas will be synergistic rather than one the same right now particularly because we have been able to our reputation so high and because we are considered by some many the heroes the savings of the world people are from all over the place are raising the hands to join our forces with us and we are very we are very lucky to have a lot of talent in flow right now. The instability now in Eastern Europe and in russia and ukraine. How does that impact pfizer . Doesnt impact fiser directly into the degree that it is material. We have smaller business. I worry a lot about our people there, but we have few people we take good care of them and all of that but clearly this is an event that works all of us because was unthinkable two months before and suddenly we see in front of us a war unjustified. That can trigger dramatic consequences for humanity. Its thats why everybody when he sees that brings back to mind the Second World War because this is suddenly how things started at that period of time. So im very very concerned about pfizer. But about what does this mean for peace and worst ability . As we wrap it up just a couple more questions before we end the second you talk about the challenges and that need to change now in the healthcare industry. Thats a big question. We can talk about that for hours. But if one thing that stands out to you some of the challenges of what needs to change overall in healthcare i would say that for me. There is one thing that it is clearly not sustainable in the us and this is that the patients are paying for their medicines like if they dont have insurance. Although they do have one of the best and most expensive insurance in the world. Its the system that way that works that everybody has to pay for their medicines out of pocket and in fact to pay their medicines in way higher prices than the prices that we are charging for example to the to the Insurance Companies almost doubled that needs to change. That needs clearly to change and find ways that medicines are way way more affordable into into the us and weve been talking about that for years. Nothings really changed. So what needs to have nothing really changed and i think not only nothing really changed things became worse. And i think many multiple times you were almost there to find solutions, but nothing happened. I dont think that the situation is sustainable. We need to change that and whats next for faiser as a company whats on the horizon . Science and breakthroughs that change patients lives. We try to harness the power of science in the most creative wants to innovative way is possible. We trying to harness the power of technology and put it together with biology. We are focusing on therapeutic areas that they are representing significant issues to the world cancer. Infectious diseases we saw now what happens with covid heart diseases Metabolic Diseases obesity diabetes all of that are areas that we are working very very intensively. Its in therapy and areas that has to do with genetically genetic diseases so its a so much the unmetically theres so much the opportunity head of us to provide solutions. That i think will be a very good agatise. Was it good luck or maybe bad luck to all of a sudden you being ceo january of 2019 not knowing how the world is going to change a few months later. No, good luck. No bed like it meant to be. Dr. Albert verla. Thank you so much for your time. We appreciate it. The book is fabulous. I think everyone go out and buy a copy of it because its a really good insight into what happened with pfizer and what continues to happen to pfizer any last comments for you. Ill give you the last word. No, thank you very much for for your interest and thank you very much also for your audience for listening to us. Moonshot inside pfizers ninemonth race to make the impossible possible again. We encourage all of you to pick up a copy of your local bookstore if youd like to watch more programs or support the Commonwealth Clubs efforts and making inperson and virtual programming possible, please visit Commonwealth Club dot org slash events