10 Years of Cocreation, Collaboration, and Coinnovation
The Healthcare Hub Berlin recently celebrated its 10th birtday: The Hub in Berlin was founded on October 01, 2014 – an important foundation for Pfizer to leverage the potential of digital technologies along the patient journey and drive innovation “beyond the pill”. A look back at three exemplary collaborations between start-ups and Pfizer initiated by the Hub Berlin.
"Our first mission was to understand the new tools and innovative ideas that were emerging outside the large corporations. We sought dialogue with promising young companies, such as ADA Health, which today provides one of the most successful symptom checkers," recalls Torsten Mintel, Director of Strategic Innovation, who has been with the Berlin Hub from day one.
The Interface Between Startups and Pfizer
Today, the Pfizer Healthcare Hub, with locations in Berlin and Freiburg, is a key player in healthcare, connecting Pfizer with the startup ecosystem and thus driving the development of innovative health solutions.
The Pfizer Healthcare Hub as a Model for Hubs Worldwide
Over the past ten years, important partnerships have emerged between the Healthcare Hub and external partners, strengthening Pfizer’s innovation power and also having a lasting impact on healthcare delivery. Below, we highlight three exemplary collaborations that showcase how we have worked together with our partners to bring innovative solutions to application.
Cortrium – A Best Practice Example of a Successful Distribution Partnership
Cortrium, now a market leader in the field of long-term ECG, was looking for a distribution partner for the C3⁺ Holter Monitor, a wireless long-term ECG, in 2017.
Pfizer had built up a stable distribution network over the years, and this led to a partnership that became a model of successful distribution collaboration between a pharmaceutical company and a MedTech startup. Pfizer continues to support Cortrium with marketing and sales, contributing significantly to the earlier detection of patients with atrial fibrillation and making diagnosis faster and more comfortable for both doctors and patients.
More about Pfizer and Cortrium
Smoke cessation via app with Alex Therapeutics
Alex Therapeutics from Stockholm combines the latest psychological insights with artificial intelligence. Through the AlexDTx platform, the company offers personalized and digital therapy solutions.
The company developed a digital application for smoking cessation via smartphone, and Pfizer is supporting Alex in providing evidence to potentially market a DiGA together, should the results be positive.
Learn more about Pfizer and Alex Therapeutics
Changing Science Communication with Visual Abstract
Currently, there are 35 million medical research publications, with over a million new ones added each year. Under the motto "Changing Science Communication," Visual Abstracts, a startup from Mannheim, aims to make relevant information more accessible through visual summaries, ensuring that key insights can be quickly and efficiently found—not only by scientists but also by practitioners, decision-makers, and the general public.
Pfizer and Visual Abstract are currently evaluating the possibility of developing new standards together to communicate medical knowledge clearly and understandably, thereby sustainably improving the quality of medical care.
Learn more about Pfizer and Visual Abstract
Looking to the future, exciting possibilities emerge: New technologies have the potential to revolutionize healthcare. The coming years will be marked by the challenge of continuing to develop innovative solutions and intensifying collaboration with startups and other partners. The goal of the Pfizer Healthcare Hub is to better understand the needs of patients and, based on this, create forward-thinking projects.
The Pfizer Healthcare Hub invites all employees, partners, and innovators to work together on the next big idea. Commitment, creative ideas, and passion are the keys to collective success. The Pfizer Healthcare Hub is excited to explore new paths with its partners and move the healthcare industry forward!
Here’s to the next years full of innovations and shared successes!
The innovation advent calendar: socks, tea and mulled wine?
What does an advent calendar look like that is created by an innovation platform and filled together with an innovation ecosystem? Without giving too much away: It's all in the mix.
With 24 little doors, the BadenCampus wants to provide the innovation community with a platform for impulses and future-oriented ideas. Behind the doors are insights, tips for useful AI tools and inspiration with a focus on innovation, knowledge and networking. Spoiler alert: If you were expecting socks, tea and mulled wine, you won't be disappointed. As a partner of the BadenCampus, the Pfizer Healthcare Hub has also created a little door for you – take a look:
Click here for the BadenCampus Advent calendar
The Pfizer Healthcare Hub at #dhc24: Three highlights
Every year, the Digital Health Conference in Berlin brings together leading experts, start-ups, investors and political decision-makers to discuss trends and developments in the field of digital healthcare and to shed light on the opportunities and challenges facing our healthcare system. The Pfizer Healthcare Hub was there: A look at three highlights of #dhc24.
Dr. Karl Lauterbach: Germany strives for a leading role in digital medicine
One highlight of the conference was the inspiring keynote speech by Federal Minister of Health Prof. Dr. Karl Lauterbach. He emphasized the importance of the digital transformation in the healthcare sector using the example of specific projects such as the electronic patient file. At the same time, he focused on the transformative potential of artificial intelligence for the healthcare of tomorrow. Lauterbach emphasized that Germany is striving to play a leading role in digital medicine and that corresponding laws should accelerate this development. He also announced that more research into AI in the healthcare sector would be promoted in order to drive forward innovative solutions.
Dr. Christian Lenz: Getting to patients faster with AI
Dr. Christian Lenz, Medical Director of Pfizer Germany, directly followed on from this with his presentation of Pfizer's latest developments and contributions to improving patient care and promoting innovative therapy options through the targeted use of AI. Dr. Lenz outlined how Pfizer is using AI to increase the efficiency of clinical trials and develop personalized therapies. He also explained how digital healthcare concepts can improve patient care and facilitate and accelerate access to innovative treatment options.
The Healthcare Hub as Pfizer's central point of contact for digital health projects
DHC24 is an important networking platform that many start-ups used to get in touch with Pfizer and find out exactly what the Pfizer Healthcare Hub offers and what a partnership with Pfizer could look like in concrete terms. The Pfizer Healthcare Hub Berlin was represented at this year's DHC by Thorsten Mintel, Maria Scham, Paulina Achter and Florian Reis. The Hub team was able to get to know interesting start-ups from various sectors and gain numerous insights into promising digital health projects.
Optima: Fighting cancer with real-world data and artificial intelligence
Treating patients with breast, lung or prostate cancer in the best possible way thanks to artificial intelligence - that is the goal of the OPTIMA research consortium.
But what exactly is OPTIMA?
The public-private partnership IMI OPTIMA aims to optimize the treatment of patients with solid tumors in Europe using real-world data and artificial intelligence. A consortium of 38 partners from 14 European countries, including clinics, research institutions, patient organizations, medical societies, and pharmaceutical companies, shares the vision of providing every cancer patient access to the latest treatments and innovative therapies. The goal is to develop a unique and interoperable data platform in Europe. Various data, especially from everyday clinical practice (real-world data), will be integrated and analyzed using deep learning and artificial intelligence. This will generate new knowledge to further personalize the treatment paths of patients with prostate, breast, and lung cancer and supplement treatment guidelines. Simultaneously, OPTIMA is developing a Clinical Decision Support Tool to assist physicians in making optimal cancer therapy decisions.
The project began in October 2021 and is funded for five years under the umbrella of the European Union's Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) and the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA). Three years into the project, significant milestones have already been achieved to develop a privacy-compliant and secure platform for real-world data in oncology. Currently, the OPTIMA platform is being tested as an advanced prototype and is expected to be fully developed by 2026.
By the end of the funding period in late 2026, a significant advancement is expected in updated guidelines, personalized medicine, and the use of big data and artificial intelligence in the European healthcare system.
For more information about OPTIMA, please click here:
OPTIMA Website: OPTIMA - Tackling Cancer through Real World Data (optima-oncology.eu)
FAQ with Dr. Hagen Krüger: OPTIMA: Mit Künstlicher Intelligenz zur passenden Krebsbehandlung | Pfizer Deutschland
Podcast: Mit künstlicher Intelligenz Krebs besser behandeln • Charles² – Pharma Insights (spotify.com)