Miriam Adamson
Oncology Business Lead, Pfizer Healthcare Ireland
One way or another, cancer touches all our lives. Globally, approximately one in five people will receive a diagnosis of cancer within their lifetime.
At Pfizer, we are driven by our purpose to deliver breakthroughs that change patients’ lives and our belief that, ultimately, science will win against the greatest health challenges of our lifetime.
Every day, we work boldly to translate our cutting-edge science into effective medicines and holistic solutions for people living with cancer so they can live longer and healthier lives.
Cancer affects all of us
Some of the highest rates of new cancer incidence are within developed regions and countries around the world including European countries like Ireland, where more than one in two people will develop some form of cancer during their lifetime.
Behind the numbers are people — it’s us and the people we love. This is why nothing is more personal or more urgent than our goal to find breakthrough medicines for these deadly diseases.
This motivates all of us at Pfizer every day, and we share that goal with healthcare providers, patient advocates, caregivers, payers, biopharma companies and everyone living with cancer around the world.
Our teams are committed to taking a patient-centric and collaborative approach to discover a new generation of medicines.
Over the past decade, we’ve adopted bold, new approaches to translate scientific research into effective medicines for people living with cancer. We have taken significant learnings from the development and rollout of the Covid-19 vaccine in collaboration with BioNTech, realising that it is possible to make the impossible possible and produce a vaccine in nine months.
We are committed to leveraging this experience throughout our research and development endeavours within oncology to bring innovations that transform patients’ lives at lightning speed.
Patients first: breast cancer resource
Our commitment to Irish patients was a huge motivator for establishing the ‘What’s Breast for Me?’ website. The online resource, from Pfizer Healthcare Ireland, aims to support, empower and inform those diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer in Ireland.
It helps answer key questions that patients with such a diagnosis may have, through the provision of digestible information, such as ‘How do doctors make treatment decisions?’ and ‘What matters most to you?’
The website contextualises, localises and personalises the options available to each person diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer and affords them the opportunity to manage their diagnosis needs in discussion with their healthcare provider. Since we launched the website last year, hundreds of Irish women have availed of this helpful resource.
Oncology: our pipeline
Globally, we have a portfolio of 24 cancer medicines and biosimilars — these include targeted therapies for some of the highest cancer mortality causes across Europe. Now, we are focused on delivering the next wave of breakthroughs.
Our teams are committed to taking a patient-centric and collaborative approach to discover a new generation of medicines that can target specific tumour types, overcome resistance and attack hard-to-treat cancers earlier.
Working with other stakeholders
We also know that our breakthrough medicines can’t save lives if they can’t get to the people who need them. We are working with a broad range of stakeholders, including policymakers and advocacy groups, to raise awareness of the unmet needs within cancer and the innovations that could change people’s lives.
Together, we’ve made meaningful progress, but our work is far from finished. Thousands of people in Ireland are living with cancer, and millions more will receive a diagnosis in the future. They are the reason we will continue to work tirelessly to deliver on our purpose: breakthroughs that change patients’ lives.