10 years, 10 questions

A lot has happened since the Pfizer Healthcare Hub was founded in Berlin in 2014: The Hub team has established important partnerships with startups and young companies, worked hand in hand with cooperation partners and found innovative solutions for Pfizer's specialist departments. This would not have been possible without the Hub employees: Through their commitment and creativity, new paths have opened up for Pfizer and new, innovative technologies have been brought into use.
We spoke to ten former employees about their experiences and takeaways from their time at the Pfizer Healthcare Hub.
 

What was the highlight of your time at the Pfizer Healthcare Hub?

Ekaterina Alipiev (Director Innovation Sourcing at Pfizer): 

I was involved in the hub for several years, so there were several highlights and it's hard to single out one. What was certainly very impressive was the very first “Startup Sprechstunde” that we organized in 2015. All of a sudden, around 60 startup founders and teams came to the event at the headquarters at Potsdamer Platz: something that Pfizer had never seen before. This was the start of an intensive exchange with startup teams and a long series of events.

What was the toughest challenge you faced at the Pfizer Healthcare Hub and how did you overcome it?

Bertram Weber (Team Lead Health Solution Partner IM at Pfizer): 

For us as a pharmaceutical company, the development, production and distribution of our medicinal products is our core business. In addition to our own products, we are constantly finding innovative cooperation partners with exciting digital solutions that fit in with our products and therapeutic areas and make a meaningful contribution to improving care. In such collaborations, we often take on the role of sales partner, as we can use our access to the medical profession to publicize these innovations. And this is precisely where the biggest challenges lie for everyone involved.

In most cases, our partners' products are not yet established on the market, i.e. the medical profession first has to be convinced of them. Implementing a digital solution into the existing practice workflow means change. Practices must have time for this and be able to recognize a clear benefit for themselves and their patients - keyword change management. Marketing materials and email campaigns are certainly helpful, but often not enough. For long-term success, both cooperation partners need patience until a product can establish itself on the market. Only direct customer contact, intensive discussions with potentially interested parties and customer-oriented support can gradually create trust in innovations and ultimately win over the target group. 

The commitment of the sales force is just as important. We first have to be convinced of the product internally and create trust here too, as some of our customer relationships have existed for a very long time and are based on trust, which means we have a lot to lose. The necessary degree of transparency, i.e. about the product, but also about the cooperation partner and the people who work there, has proved its worth here. When launching for the first time, it is important to obtain customer opinions and initial feedback and to share this with the sales force. To ensure that the trust gained is not squandered, it is immensely important to develop a very good understanding of their respective internal requirements and processes in order to avoid misunderstandings. Very close and structured cooperation is the most important success factor here.

Successful cooperation is not a sure-fire success. Above all, it depends on intensive cooperation, a clear commitment on the part of all those involved and staying power.

What professional or personal progress have you made during your time at the Pfizer Healthcare Hub?

Jutta Klauer (Director Strategic Digital Partnerships at MSD Deutschland): 

I still remember very well the first exchange with the later startup partner Viomedo, myself as co-initiator of the Healthcare Hub and a Pfizer team, in which we explored the possibilities of collaboration. Two very different worlds came together with a lot of energy - the large corporation and a very young startup. As a team, we dared to do something completely new at Pfizer and I knew from then on that I was in the right place and could make a difference: bringing the corporate and startup worlds together and driving the digitalization of the healthcare system forward together.

And none of us would have thought when we founded it in 2014 that the first Pfizer Healthcare Hub in Berlin would become the model for other hubs around the world.

Is there a project or task that you are particularly proud of?

Lisa Kilikowski (Master student Public Health): 

I am particularly proud of my involvement in the development of a standardized evaluation process for potential start-up collaborations. This task not only helped me to strengthen my project management and organizational skills, but also to deepen my understanding of innovation processes and strategic partnerships in the pharmaceutical industry.

Lorenz Winker (Digital Innovation Hub Lead at Novo Nordisk): 

My first project at the Healthcare Hub was the “Future of Health” format, in which we brought together thought leaders and innovators from very different areas, including outside the healthcare sector, to develop a positive vision for the future of health in an extraordinary setting. Together with Maks Giordano, with whom we worked at the time, we developed a truly new format with several events, workshops and exciting discussions that were certainly unique in their form, which was also something special in retrospect. The “Moonshot Booklet” from the first event is still on my desk🙂.

What moments in the Pfizer Healthcare Hub have inspired or motivated you the most?

Peter Neske (Innovation Lead Pfizer Healthcare Hub Freiburg): 

Whenever internal and external innovators actively approach us, ideally in personal contact, to find out what a joint collaboration could look like. Especially on external stages, we are often the first innovation contact for Pfizer Germany, which makes us proud. And via our website, we are also a contact synapse that promotes dialog...
We also think of the day after tomorrow: we have the courage to tackle topics that no one in the Pfizer network has tackled yet, for example DiGAs or quantum technology.
 

Thorsten Mintel (Director Strategic Innovation at Pfizer): 

At the very beginning, it was the fact that we as Pfizer had the courage to embark on this journey and immerse ourselves in the then still quite new, cool start-up world. And of course, moments like the signing ceremony for the contract with Cortrium or the presentations of cooperation projects to senior management were very exciting. I was also inspired by the many colleagues who have worked at the hub over the last 10 years. They were often people with start-up experience and skills who enriched our team enormously and with whom it was simply fun to work together.

Is there an anecdote from your time at the Pfizer Healthcare Hub that you would like to share?

Lorenz Winker: 

My time at the Healthcare Hub overlapped a lot with the lockdown times during Corona, which was of course extraordinary and meant that I only met many colleagues for the first time in 3D after a long time. I worked very closely with one colleague in the home office every day for almost a year before we realized that we lived 100 meters apart.

How has your view of the industry changed as a result of your time at the Pfizer Healthcare Hub?

Ekaterina Alipiev: 

I came to Pfizer from the start-up world, as a founder in the mental health sector, and was not familiar with the various departments, processes and responsibilities in a large company. That broadened my horizons. The more I got into the depths of the healthcare system, the more I realized how many challenges and unmet needs there are for patients. At the same time, working at the Hub allowed me to see great examples of people and teams developing solutions to these problems. That always made me very hopeful.

Which development of the hub has impressed you the most?

Ralph Laegel (Inhaber der Cap4Health GmbH & Co. KG): 

Many people have contributed to the hub's success over the years. I was particularly impressed by the fact that despite many changes of personnel in and around the hub, the idea has been maintained, constantly developed and made so successful. It's great how the innovative “baton” has always been passed on!

What advice would you give new employees at the hub?

Elena Möhrmann (Medical Affairs Scientist Oncology at Pfizer): 

You will be part of a great team where collaboration is key. Be open to new ideas and approaches and have the courage to actively contribute your own ideas. At the Hub, you not only have the chance to help shape innovations, but also to drive your personal development. Take advantage of the many opportunities offered to you here and be prepared to break new ground together with the team.  

Don Eteghwia (Medizinstudent): 

Don Eteghwia (medical student):

As a working medical student, I would advise new employees to put their academic knowledge to practical use and bring the experience gained back to their studies. Stay curious, ask questions and use the opportunity to build a strong network. Take the opportunity to learn from different experts in the Hub and actively take on new projects and challenges.

What do you wish the Pfizer Healthcare Hub for the future?

Ralph Laegel: 

I wish the hub a long-lasting existence and as many committed and innovative participants as ever, who continue to bring innovation to life with new ideas and thus also act as a kind of innovation bridge into the company.

The past few years have shown how important teamwork, commitment and passion are for the success of our hub. We want to continue to use and build on these strengths in the coming years. Many thanks to all our colleagues and supporters!