Fortune - USA (2021-02 & 2021-03)

FORTUNE FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021 9

continue to work with in making

vaccines for other diseases. We had

recombinant proteins, you name

it. But my team [led by head of

vaccine research Kathrin Jansen]

went through each technology, and

said our recommendation is to go

with mRNA, which could be scaled

up very quickly once it was devel-

oped. It’s true that there had been

no vaccine made before with mRNA

technology—but if we are successful,

then ours would be the first.

My team wanted to get started

very fast. And BioNtech [CEO Ugur

Sahin, who had reached out to Jan-

sen in a March 1 phone call] also said

they wanted to do it very fast. So we

started investing, and they started

sharing their data with us—without

even a contract.

The need for speed was one reason

to go with an mRNA vaccine. An-

other benefit is that you can change

the genetic recipe for the vaccine

on the fly—something that may be

necessary as the virus continues to

GOING ALL IN ON SCIENCE

In early March, 2020, barely a year

into your role as CEO, you made a

near-instant decision to put some

$2 billion of Pfizer’s money at risk to

develop a coronavirus vaccine. What

drove you to make that giant wager?

BOURLA: It was a massive bet, but

it was a very necessary one. There

are not many companies that have

the kind of end-to-end capabilities

in vaccines that Pfizer has—ones that

can start from early research and go

all the way into not only manufactur-

ing, but also distribution, which is

challenging. So the question in my

mind was, “If not us, then who?”

There are a slew of proven ways

for constructing vaccines, but you

chose to go with mRNA^1 , a tech-

nology that had never before pro-

duced an approved vaccine. Why?

I knew that we were working with

mRNA in flu [through our partner-

ship with German firm BioNTech].

We had adenoviruses that we

“This is why

I was put in

this position:

to be able

to take the

right risk...

not to be

conser vative

and not

move when

the world

needs us.”

The

Conversation

As the pandemic took hold last spring, scientists at Pfizer set out to, in the words

of CEO Albert Bourla, “make the impossible possible.” Now, on the heels of

achieving just that—developing the world’s first COVID-19 vaccine with breakneck

speed—the leader of the 172-year-old drugmaker talks about the clash of science

and politics, drug prices, and his next impossible task. INTERVIEW BY CLIFTON LEAF

THIS EDITED Q&A HAS BEEN CONDENSED FOR SPACE AND CLARITY.

ALBERT BOURLA

PHOTOGRAPH BY PHOTOGRAPH BY FIRST LASTNAMEMACKENZIE STROH