Pfizer has restated its commitment to develop more innovative medicines towards deepening patient-centric breakthroughs that recognises the importance of the patient in the day-to-day drug manufacturing.
“Pfizer could not realize its purpose without the pivotal role played by patients, caregivers, and advocates — whether engaging in our Research & Development efforts, offering consult on our clinical trial design, or partnering with us to develop tools, resources, and easy-to-understand materials for our patients,” Olayinka Subair, Pfizer West Africa Country Manager, said during the ‘Patients in Focus’ webinar tagged ‘With Patients. For Patients’, held on Friday 10 October signifying a renewal of Pfizer’s ongoing commitment to serving patients.
According to Subair, Pfizer’s #PatientsInFocus is a global week-long activity focused on patient centricity to the drug manufacturer’s daily productions. “This Summit is helping us to learn from our patient advocacy partners to understand how we can better incorporate patient voices into our work every day”.
He stated that Pfizer will continue to strive to be the most patient-centric company, understanding and embedding the patient perspective in its daily operation. “Pfizer will be able to develop more innovative medicines and breakthroughs when we engage with patients and patient advocacy groups to understand the needs of all patients,” Subair said.
According to him, patients in focus spur inspiration, energy, and innovation by showcasing examples of new ways to include patients at every step of Pfizer’s work. Subair stated further that the initiative offers Pfizer an opportunity to collectively envision how it can continue to best serve the evolving needs of patients in the years to come.
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“We are made up of many local markets and differing functions, but our purpose at Pfizer is global: to develop breakthroughs that change patients’ lives,” said Sally Susman, the chief corporate affairs officer at Pfizer.
According to Susman, Patients in Focus week will continue to build empathy and show colleagues how to focus on patient advocacy year-round and in everything they do. “For our work to be meaningful, every function of Pfizer needs to understand the importance of engaging patients, caregivers, and advocates in our work. By showcasing real patient experiences and where we have made an impact on patients’ lives,” Susman said.
Michelle Akande, Vice President of Global Access Financing, said Patients in Focus will build empathy for and allow colleagues to better understand patients’ journey and how Pfizer can work with patients to address unmet needs by sharing real patient and caregiver experiences.
“Patients in Focus allow us to highlight examples of successful patient engagement and partnerships and learn from them, demonstrating not only how Pfizer has made a difference in patients’ lives but how patient groups provide insights that guide our work,” she said.
According to her, the initiative allows Pfizer to showcase bi-directional advocacy relationships and partnerships that build trust and increase awareness of the value and benefit of partnering with patients across all functions.
“The collaboration with Pfizer enabled us in closing the care gap with cancer treatment as we are able to offer consultation and assessment, counseling, awareness and sensitizations campaign through road walks, Radio Jingles in the North Central axis of Nigeria,” Gregory Oyinloye, Medical Director, Leah Foundation said.
Chika Nwankwo, Programs Lead, Vaccine Network for Disease Control, said that the initiative highlights examples of successful patient engagement and advocacy and helps ensure all Pfizer employees have the knowledge and resources to incorporate patient voices into their work.
“Vaccine Network for Disease Control and Pfizer have a long-standing relationship of collaborating to address pertinent issues in sensitizing communities through edutainment. This approach of community awareness drive has since been adopted by many health outreaches and has achieved positive results in transforming community behaviors to vaccines and other health services in Nigeria,” Nwankwo said.
