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The Healthcare Hub as Pfizer's contact point for innovative start-ups

This year, the Pfizer Healthcare Hub team was once again present to find innovative solutions for patients and healthcare professionals. At our stand in the DiGA & Mobile Health area, we had exciting and inspiring conversations about digital solutions for the healthcare industry, challenges for startups, and potential collaborations with Pfizer. 

Our highlights included: 

• digital solutions for therapy support and study recruitment in oncology
• solutions for earlier diagnosis of rare diseases
• solutions for better care for patients with dermatological conditions
• promising approaches to process optimization, emission reduction, and efficiency improvement in production

We look forward to further deep dives and to strengthening the connections we have made!

Matchmaking of industry-specific challenges with creative solutions

The main actors of an InnoSession are new technologies that have the potential to significantly optimize processes at Pfizer. This information and exchange format brings together innovative technologies from external companies and startups with challenges and application fields at Pfizer. Developers and engineers present their solutions to department heads and interested employees, outlining the functionality, requirements, possibilities, and limitations of the new technology.

In the second part, there is room for questions about specific applications. This allows for a quick and efficient assessment of whether it is worth considering a challenge with the proposed solution.

Requirements for a cooperation with Pfizer

We are often asked what requirements we place on our cooperation partners. For this purpose, we have designed a matching test that checks the potential for a collaboration with Pfizer based on a few questions. 
Take the matching test!

InnoSession with quantum computing pioneers D-Wave and QuantumBasel

Two companies that meet our requirements for innovation, maturity, and application potential are D-Wave and Quantum Basel. D-Wave, a leading company in the field of quantum technology, specializes in quantum annealing technology. QuantumBasel is a competence center for quantum computing and AI, aiming to make the potential of quantum computing accessible to as many companies as possible. During an InnoSession at Pfizer's production plant in Freiburg, the two international teams presented how optimization problems can be solved using quantum annealing. In the second part, interested Pfizer representatives discussed possible application fields. We are excited to see what develops from this and will keep you updated!

If you have developed an innovative technology that you would like to present in an InnoSession, please fill out our matching test and contact us! We look forward to inviting innovators from the ecosystem to an InnoSession!

arise is part of the innovation platform badenCampus and supports startups with its accelerator program to master market entry. The program's initiators place great emphasis on personal development and aim to specifically promote the entrepreneurial personalities and teams behind the startups.

Participating startups also gain exclusive access to a strong network of mentors, potential customers, and strategic partnerships. This includes offers for proof-of-concept partners, funding search, test infrastructure, and more. 

Particularly in the health ecosystem, arise is well-connected: there is close collaboration with clinics, health insurance companies, and health enterprises, which is especially beneficial for startups in the health sector – the Pfizer Healthcare Hub is also a cooperation partner of badenCampus.

The accelerator program

• 03.03. & 04.04.2025: Kick-off and workshop on business model, testing, and mentoring
• 10.04. & 11.11.2025: Workshops on financing and organization
• 08.05. & 09.05.2025: Workshop on personality, team, and resilience, as well as mentoring
• 22.05. & 23.05.2025: Workshop on marketing and sales
• 24.06. & 25.06.2025: Summer School (pitch and mentoring)
• 24.07.2025: arise Startup Day – pitch to investors and the startup ecosystem

Thanks to funding from Start-up BW, participation in the arise Accelerator is free of charge.

"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!