PETRI DISH PERSPECTIVES: BIOTECH UNLEASHED

Episode 1: Pfizer

• Manead Khin • Season 1 • Episode 1

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đź’Š From Brooklyn to Biotech Titan: The Rise of Pfizer đź’Š

Welcome to the first-ever episode of Petri Dish Perspectives: Biotech Unleashed! 🚀 I’m your host, Manead—scientist, biotech nerd, and your guide through the fascinating world of life sciences.

We’re kicking things off with Pfizer—a company that started as a small chemical business in Brooklyn and grew into a global powerhouse. From upscaling penicillin in WWII to revolutionizing cholesterol treatment with Lipitor, turning a failed heart drug into Viagra, and spearheading the COVID-19 vaccine, Pfizer has been at the forefront of medical breakthroughs for 175 years.

How did two German cousins build a billion-dollar empire? What made Pfizer a leader in R&D, and where are they headed next? Grab a coffee (or your favorite lab-safe beverage) and dive in as we break it all down. 🧪🔬

🎧 Listen now and unleash your inner biotech geek!

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Intro

Hello, and welcome to Petri Dish Perspectives: Biotech Unleashed, the podcast where we geek out about science and the companies shaping the future of healthcare. I’m your host, Manead, and I’m a scientist with a PhD background in cancer biology and analytical chemistry. With that being said, for the very first episode of Petri Dish, we’re diving into the story of Pfizer — on how two German cousins started a little business in Brooklyn that grew into one of the biggest billion dollar companies. From upscaling penicillin, creating viagra to finding huge success with COVID vaccine, Pfizer is undoubtedly one of the most successful biotech companies! 

Quick disclaimer, I give full credit to the original articles cited in the references in the transcript!

Grab a coffee or tea, settle in, and let’s jump in!


Segment 1: The Founding Story

Alright, let’s take it all the way back to 1849. Pfizer was founded by two German immigrants, Charles Pfizer and his cousin Charles Erhart. 

Charles Pfizer grew up in Ludwigsburg, Germany, in the 1820s. He was a curious kid who loved chemistry. Luckily, his parents encouraged him, and he ended up studying chemistry at the Polytechnic School in Stuttgart. By the time he got to the U.S., he had the skills to dive right into industrial chemistry.

Then there’s Charles Erhart, who grew up in a family of bakers. While Pfizer was all about the science, Erhart was the guy who knew how to make things people actually wanted to buy. He trained as a confectioner (person who makes or sells candies) back in Germany and brought that knack for quality and flavor to their new venture which will later become Pfizer company.

When the two of them moved to Brooklyn in 1848, they didn’t have much — just their skills and a dream. According to one of Charles Pfizer’s children, they already had an idea for business and a year later, they started their own chemical business. Their first big product, you ask? Santonin, an antiparasitic, used to treat intestinal roundworms, which they made way more appealing by coating it in almond flavor. Erhart’s confectionery skills came in clutch there. That combination of practicality and innovation really set the tone for Pfizer’s future.

In 1900, Pfizer became incorporated in New Jersey with $2M with 200,000 shares. Pfizer was privately held until 1942 when the shares were finally offered to the public. In 1984, Pfizer’s stock was at $1.66 a piece. 


Segment 2: Early Growth and the Antibiotics Revolution

So, how did Pfizer go from flavored medicine to a global powerhouse? Let’s travel to the 1940s. This is where things get next-level.

World War II was raging, and there was this huge need for penicillin — the miracle drug of the time. Alexander Fleming discovered it in 1928, but producing it at scale was a nightmare. That’s where Pfizer came in. They figured out deep-tank fermentation, a game-changing method for making penicillin in massive amounts. (If you want to see pictures of what these tanks look like, check out the reference from Chemical Engineer in the transcript.) By 1944, Pfizer was cranking out penicillin for soldiers, saving countless lives. Honestly, this was the moment Pfizer went from being a solid company to a medical superstar.

But, I want to take a quick angle here. Deep tank fermentation wasn’t invented for penicillin production. In 1919, Pfizer hired a food chemist called James Currie. And, James, together with his lab assistant, Jasper Kane who at the time was 16, had discovered that fermenting strains of the mould together with sugar resulted in citric acid. Because of this, Pfizer was not only king of the citric acid producers, but also applied its newfound expertise in fermentation, particularly deep-tank fermentation, to more products like itaconic acid, fumaric acid, gluconic acid and vitamins such as riboflavin.


Segment 3: From Research to Blockbusters

After the war, Pfizer didn’t slow down. If anything, they doubled down on R&D, and this is when we started seeing their blockbuster hits. Let’s chat about a few:

  • Lipitor: Atorvastatin was originally synthesized in 1985, although the medication wouldn't become known as Lipitor until 1996, when it was approved by the FDA based on four clinical trials. By the way, at this point in time, there was a boom of statins, which are a class of drugs that can reduce LDL cholesterol — often dubbed “bad cholesterol” — to help prevent heart attacks and strokes. At the time Lipitor was developed, it fell under the Parke-Davis Company, which was acquired by Warner-Lambert. This cholesterol-lowering drug became the best-selling drug in history. Then again, in 2000, Pfizer acquired Warner-Lambert. At its peak in 2006, it was pulling in over $12 billion a year. Yeah, billion with a “B.” What set Lipitor apart was its unparalleled potency; it was more effective at lowering cholesterol levels than existing statins, even at lower doses. Pfizer’s aggressive marketing campaign, combined with the growing awareness of cardiovascular health, propelled Lipitor to become the best-selling prescription drug in history, generating over $150 billion in revenue during its patent life. Its success not only transformed Pfizer into a pharmaceutical powerhouse but also cemented statins as a cornerstone of heart disease prevention.
  • Viagra: You can’t talk about Pfizer without mentioning Viagra. The story of Viagra begins in the early 1990s, when Pfizer scientists were researching a compound called sildenafil citrate as a potential treatment for angina, a type of chest pain caused by reduced blood flow to the heart. During clinical trials, the drug didn’t perform as hoped for angina relief, but participants reported a surprising side effect: improved erectile function. Intrigued, Pfizer shifted focus and began exploring sildenafil’s potential as a treatment for erectile dysfunction (ED), a condition with limited medical options at the time. After clinical trials confirmed its efficacy, Viagra became the first oral medication approved by the FDA for ED in 1998. It was a pop cultural phenomenon and a medical breakthrough, transforming how sexual health was discussed and treated worldwide while becoming one of Pfizer’s most iconic products.
  • COVID-19 Vaccine: This is the crown jewel of recent years. So, what’s the story behind this COVID vaccine? BioNTech had already been working on mRNA technology for years. mRNA vaccines weren’t new to them, but they had never been used on such a global scale. Pfizer, on the other hand, brought the resources, expertise, and infrastructure needed to accelerate the development and mass production of a vaccine. The two companies joined forces in March 2020, combining cutting-edge science with large-scale manufacturing might. Now, let’s talk about the science behind the vaccine. mRNA vaccines use messenger RNA which is a molecule that carries instructions from DNA to make proteins in your cells. mRNA can essentially teach cells how to make a harmless piece of the virus’s spike protein. Once the immune system sees this spike protein, it mounts a response, creating antibodies. So if the real virus shows up, your body’s ready to fight it off. It’s genius, really. Pfizer and BioNTech worked at lightning speed. Within months, they identified their vaccine candidate, BNT162b2, and launched clinical trials. By November 2020, they announced that their vaccine was over 90% effective in preventing COVID-19 — a result that exceeded everyone’s expectations. This was a major win, not just for Pfizer but for humanity. But it wasn’t all smooth sailing. mRNA technology required ultra-cold storage, presenting logistical challenges. Pfizer had to develop specialized shipping containers and establish an entirely new cold-chain distribution network to ensure the vaccine could reach every corner of the world. On top of that, there was the challenge of scaling up production — something they managed to do incredibly well, producing billions of doses within the first year. On December 11, 2020, the U.S. FDA granted emergency use authorization for Pfizer and BioNTech’s vaccine. It was the first COVID-19 vaccine to receive this approval, marking the start of a global vaccination campaign. The success of the COVID-19 vaccine opened up new possibilities for mRNA technology. Pfizer and BioNTech are now working on vaccines for other diseases, like influenza, shingles, and even cancer. The legacy of their COVID-19 vaccine is just the beginning.

Each of these successes shows Pfizer’s knack for spotting big medical needs and delivering solutions that change lives.


Segment 4: People Who Made Their Mark

Pfizer has also been a launching pad for some pretty amazing people. Each episode, my goal is to highlight one incredible person at a time.

Dr. Albert Bourla: Pfizer’s current CEO. Bourla is a Greek-American veterinarian and businessman who was born in Thessaloniki, Greece in 1961. His parents, who were of Sephardic Jewish descent, were part of the small group of only 2,000 Jews from the city of Thessaloniki who managed to survive the Holocaust out of a total Jewish population of 50,000 there at the time. He earned a Ph.D. in biotechnology. Bourla joined Pfizer in 1993 as the technical director of the animal health division. He held several executive roles across Pfizer's divisions, including group marketing director for the US and area president of animal health for Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. He became CEO in 2019 and he truly took the company through the pandemic and made some bold moves to prioritize innovation. A lot of the success that Pfizer found during the pandemic was credited to Bourla. He was actually awarded the CEO of the year by CNN business in 2021.


Segment 5: What’s Next for Pfizer?

So, where’s Pfizer headed? They’re diving into some really exciting areas like oncology, rare diseases, and gene therapy. Plus, their work in mRNA technology is just getting started. Imagine vaccines and treatments for diseases we’ve struggled with for decades — that’s the future they’re building.

Pfizer’s not just resting on its laurels. They’re doubling down on innovation and aiming to tackle some of the biggest challenges in global health.

As of December 2024, Pfizer’s market cap is $150B while their enterprise value is at about $207B. When this episode was recorded, Pfizer stock sat at $26.62 a piece compared to about $2 a piece in 1984. 


Segment 6: The Keys to Pfizer’s Success

So, what makes Pfizer tick? Why do they keep winning? Here’s what I think:

  • Big on R&D: Pfizer spends billions on research every year. They’re constantly looking for the next breakthrough.
  • Smart Acquisitions: They’ve bought up companies like Warner-Lambert (Lipitor), expanding their reach and capabilities.
  • Global Presence: Pfizer operates in over 120 countries. When they innovate, the whole world feels it.
  • Flexibility: Whether it’s antibiotics in the 1940s or mRNA tech today, Pfizer knows how to adapt and evolve


Outro

And that’s a wrap on the very first episode of Petri Dish Perspectives! I hope you loved this deep dive into Pfizer’s incredible journey. Thank you for making it to the end of this episode. If you enjoyed this podcast, don’t forget to hit subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with your fellow biotech nerds. Got a company or topic you’d love me to cover? Let me know through social media channels! Until next time, stay curious and see you next time.

References


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Manead Khin

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