Latest news with #AlbertBourla
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Pfizer CEO goes to war with RFK Jr over mRNA vaccines amid cancer link
They are two of the biggest rivals in the world of pharma. But the CEO of drug giant Pfizer has sprung to Moderna 's defense following the Trump administration's decision to cut its funding for the development of a bird flu vaccine. The company was told that the Health and Human Services Department (HHS) had withdrawn a $766million grant awarded by the Biden administration to pay for development and purchase of its experimental shot. The HHS said an investigation found the project did not meet the scientific standards or safety expectations required for continued federal investment, but there is a sense that it is part of the new health secretary RFK Jr's push towards an anti-vaccine agenda. Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla has slammed this decision and at a conference on Friday, he said that Moderna's new vaccine, called mRNA-1018, is 'extremely well tested [and] the science is proven.' Referencing the fact that there have been around 1.5 billion mRNA vaccine shots against Covid-19 administered worldwide from his company alone, Bourla said they were 'probably the most utilized vaccine[s] in the history of humanity'. And if vaccination rates decline, it 'will not take a long time' for diseases to return Using the technology pioneered during the Covid pandemic, mRNA-based vaccines have been tested as cancer treatments, with some promising early results. In one research paper out of Penn State College of Medicine, the scientists note: 'mRNA vaccines are an attractive and powerful immunotherapeutic platform against cancer because of their high potency, specificity, versatility, rapid and large-scale development capability, low-cost manufacturing potential, and safety.' Bourla says that Pfizer - which does not rely on government funding, with most of its cash from sales and partnerships - will continue its investment into vaccines. HHS boss Robert F. Kennedy Jr has expressed deep skepticism regarding jabs, including the Covid shots — despite real-world evidence they saved millions of lives. Bourla says that the issue with this and other changes to US health agency policies is that they are 'not based on any scientific data.... It's just based on a belief.' Despite fiction between the government and the drug companies over vaccines, Bourla says there are 'several topics' in the medical sphere that they do agree upon - with cancer being one of these. 'We are working to address those things as we agree to disagree on the things that divide us,' Bourla added on the subject. The mRNA bird flu vaccine is based on the same technology as Pfizer 's and Moderna's Covid vaccines. The vaccine contains mRNA, which acts like a set of instructions for the body. Cells read the mRNA and temporarily produce a harmless piece of the bird flu virus like a decoy. The immune system recognizes this protein as a threat and builds defenses against it. If a person is later exposed to bird flu, their immune system is already trained to fight it off. Researchers tested the vaccine on mice and ferrets and observed a strong immune response in the animals. It was hoped it would produce similar successful results in the late stage trial, which is now on hold. RFK Jr's move to cut Moderna's vaccine funding comes despite growing concerns about the H5N1 bird flu strain that is tearing through poultry and dairy farms in the US At least 70 people in the US have been sickened and one person died. Scientists fear that continued mutation of the virus could allow it to become more virulent or more easily spread in people, with the possibility that it could trigger a pandemic. Moderna received $176 million in July 2024 and was due to receive an extra $590m after the package was approved in January under Biden. The January award would have supported a late-stage clinical trial that could have determined the vaccine's efficacy against pandemic viruses, including bird flu. The shot had already been tested in 300 healthy adults to gauge its safety. A Moderna spokesman said at the time: 'While the termination of funding from HHS adds uncertainty, we are pleased by the robust immune response and safety profile observed in this interim analysis.' It's uncertain whether Moderna will continue developing its bird flu vaccine without government funding. Meanwhile, Pfizer recently made a breakthrough with one of its drugs called Braftovi. While the prescription medicine is traditionally used to treat adults with skin cancer in combination with another drug, in a clinical trial, it was also found to double the length of time patients with an aggressive form of colorectal cancer lived with treatment. Researchers found cancer patients lived for an average of 30 months on the drug compared with 15.
CNN
4 days ago
- Business
- CNN
‘We agree to disagree': Pfizer CEO on working with HHS despite vaccine views
Pfizer CEO Dr. Albert Bourla speaks to CNN's Meg Tirrell about pushing past vaccine skepticism to work with the Trump administration, concerns about proposed budget cuts to the National Institutes of Health, and breakthroughs in cancer research.
CNN
4 days ago
- Business
- CNN
Pfizer CEO: HHS claims of ‘concealed safety concerns' on mRNA vaccines are ‘completely inaccurate'
Pharmaceutical rivals don't often come to each other's defense. But after the US Department of Health and Human Services terminated a contract with drugmaker Moderna to develop an mRNA bird flu vaccine, claiming that 'mRNA technology remains under-tested,' Pfizer's chief executive is speaking up. 'MRNA probably is the most utilized vaccine in the history of humanity,' Pfizer CEO Dr. Albert Bourla said Friday, noting that there have been about 1.5 billion mRNA vaccine doses against Covid-19 administered worldwide from his company alone – not counting those from Moderna. 'So it is extremely well-tested.' HHS said Wednesday that it was canceling at least $590 million in federal funding the previous administration had granted for Moderna to use its mRNA technology to develop pandemic influenza vaccines, including those against H5 avian flu viruses. The H5N1 strain has infected at least 70 people and killed one in the US since last year. 'We concluded that continued investment in Moderna's H5N1 mRNA vaccine was not scientifically or ethically justifiable,' an HHS spokesperson said, claiming, 'the reality is that mRNA technology remains under-tested, and we are not going to spend taxpayer dollars repeating the mistakes of the last administration, which concealed legitimate safety concerns from the public.' Asked his response to those comments, Bourla responded, 'both of them are completely inaccurate.' The pharma giant's chief spoke with CNN on Friday as Pfizer presented new data on a colorectal cancer drug at the American Society of Clinical Oncology, or ASCO, conference in Chicago, the world's largest meeting on cancer research. Pfizer's drug, Braftovi, was shown to double the length of time patients with an aggressive form of colorectal cancer lived with treatment: an average of 30 months compared with 15 in a clinical trial. It's a 'very, very important finding,' Bourla said, noting that colorectal cancer rates, 'particularly among younger people, are skyrocketing right now.' And while Pfizer is making big bets on cancer research, its CEO said he's not taking his foot off the pedal with investment in vaccines either, despite a 'very big gap' between the company and HHS – particularly Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. – on their approaches to the subject. 'The science is proven,' Bourla said. 'The things they will do that will reduce, maybe, vaccination rates will come back and bite us.' Diseases will return, he said, and 'that will not take a long time.' Already, the US is experiencing one of its largest measles outbreaks since the disease was declared eliminated in this country in 2000, and rates of whooping cough, or pertussis, have increased as well. The recurrence of disease probably 'means that immediately they will have to reverse it,' Bourla said, suggesting that there will be public health efforts to increase vaccination rates in response, and 'they will go back to what every country in the world is doing.' Bourla worked with the first Trump administration to advance the company's Covid-19 vaccine through Operation Warp Speed in 2020, although he noted that Pfizer didn't accept federal funding to support vaccine development, only for the purchase of vaccines after the fact. He said that despite the gap on vaccines, 'when you speak with them, including Secretary Kennedy, I have found several topics that we are in, surprisingly, alignment.' Taking on cancer is one key area of agreement, according to the company. Bourla cited executive orders from President Donald Trump encompassing issues like addressing shorter market exclusivity for pills compared with injectable medicines under the Inflation Reduction Act – something the industry calls the 'pill penalty' – drug discounts to hospitals in a program known as 340B, and ratcheting up scrutiny on pharmacy benefit managers' role in drug pricing. 'We are working to address those things as we agree to disagree on the things that divide us,' Bourla said. He noted that he is against the administration's proposed 40% budget cut for the National Institutes of Health, emphasizing that the US is 'the dominant scientific force in biomedical sciences right now, and it is because we have created this ecosystem,' in which NIH funding supports academic research that can lead to new discoveries picked up by the pharmaceutical industry and made into medicines. 'If we break any link of this chain of this large ecosystem,' Bourla said, 'that's not good for us, and actually, it's a gift to our friends in China.' Bourla also took issue with HHS's actions on Covid-19 vaccines in the past two weeks: saying that the US Food and Drug Administration will change the way it approves updated shots for people who aren't in vulnerable groups and that the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will no longer recommend Covid-19 vaccines to healthy children and pregnant women. In previous years, Covid-19 vaccines had been updated in a similar way to seasonal flu shots, based on evidence that they generate an immune response; clinical trials that are required to show a vaccine's effect in preventing cases of disease are thought to take too long, potentially, to be feasible every season. What's more, the FDA and its advisers had previously deemed the vaccine updates small enough to not change their safety profile. Asked whether Pfizer would be able to run clinical trials quickly enough to make updated vaccines available to everyone, not just those in vulnerable groups, Bourla said, 'You are raising some very real concerns that we have.' Bourla noted that the implications of the Trump administration's changes to US health agency policies aren't entirely clear. But 'the issue is that that is not based on any scientific data. It's just based on a belief.' 'The appropriate process has not been followed; this is not just: the secretary or someone at a high level issues, let's say, a new rule,' he said. 'You need to follow a process which is reviews, experts, professional staff of FDA and all of that.' Dorit Reiss, a professor of law at UC Law San Francisco, suggested that HHS's 'bad administrative procedure' in announcing the updated CDC recommendations 'will be an issue' if they're challenged in court. Would Pfizer consider filing a lawsuit? 'My initial reaction is that I would prefer to find solutions but not create tensions,' Bourla replied. 'But of course, if we feel that we have to, we will.' Overall, the CEO emphasized that he has found the administration willing to engage in discussions, noting that 'we maintain a very, very close relationship' with the White House. 'I can't complain they don't listen to us,' Bourla said.
CNN
4 days ago
- Business
- CNN
‘We agree to disagree': Pfizer CEO on working with HHS despite vaccine views
Pfizer CEO Dr. Albert Bourla speaks to CNN's Meg Tirrell about pushing past vaccine skepticism to work with the Trump administration, concerns about proposed budget cuts to the National Institutes of Health, and breakthroughs in cancer research.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Pfizer CEO: HHS claims of ‘concealed safety concerns' on mRNA vaccines are ‘completely inaccurate'
Pharmaceutical rivals don't often come to each other's defense. But after the US Department of Health and Human Services terminated a contract with drugmaker Moderna to develop an mRNA bird flu vaccine, claiming that 'mRNA technology remains under-tested,' Pfizer's chief executive is speaking up. 'MRNA probably is the most utilized vaccine in the history of humanity,' Pfizer CEO Dr. Albert Bourla said Friday, noting that there have been about 1.5 billion mRNA vaccine doses against Covid-19 administered worldwide from his company alone – not counting those from Moderna. 'So it is extremely well-tested.' HHS said Wednesday that it was canceling at least $590 million in federal funding the previous administration had granted for Moderna to use its mRNA technology to develop pandemic influenza vaccines, including those against H5 avian flu viruses. The H5N1 strain has infected at least 70 people and killed one in the US since last year. 'We concluded that continued investment in Moderna's H5N1 mRNA vaccine was not scientifically or ethically justifiable,' an HHS spokesperson said, claiming, 'the reality is that mRNA technology remains under-tested, and we are not going to spend taxpayer dollars repeating the mistakes of the last administration, which concealed legitimate safety concerns from the public.' Asked his response to those comments, Bourla responded, 'both of them are completely inaccurate.' The pharma giant's chief spoke with CNN on Friday as Pfizer presented new data on a colorectal cancer drug at the American Society of Clinical Oncology, or ASCO, conference in Chicago, the world's largest meeting on cancer research. Pfizer's drug, Braftovi, was shown to double the length of time patients with an aggressive form of colorectal cancer lived with treatment: an average of 30 months compared with 15 in a clinical trial. It's a 'very, very important finding,' Bourla said, noting that colorectal cancer rates, 'particularly among younger people, are skyrocketing right now.' And while Pfizer is making big bets on cancer research, its CEO said he's not taking his foot off the pedal with investment in vaccines either, despite a 'very big gap' between the company and HHS – particularly Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. – on their approaches to the subject. 'The science is proven,' Bourla said. 'The things they will do that will reduce, maybe, vaccination rates will come back and bite us.' Diseases will return, he said, and 'that will not take a long time.' Already, the US is experiencing one of its largest measles outbreaks since the disease was declared eliminated in this country in 2000, and rates of whooping cough, or pertussis, have increased as well. The recurrence of disease probably 'means that immediately they will have to reverse it,' Bourla said, suggesting that there will be public health efforts to increase vaccination rates in response, and 'they will go back to what every country in the world is doing.' Bourla worked with the first Trump administration to advance the company's Covid-19 vaccine through Operation Warp Speed in 2020, although he noted that Pfizer didn't accept federal funding to support vaccine development, only for the purchase of vaccines after the fact. He said that despite the gap on vaccines, 'when you speak with them, including Secretary Kennedy, I have found several topics that we are in, surprisingly, alignment.' Taking on cancer is one key area of agreement, according to the company. Bourla cited executive orders from President Donald Trump encompassing issues like addressing shorter market exclusivity for pills compared with injectable medicines under the Inflation Reduction Act – something the industry calls the 'pill penalty' – drug discounts to hospitals in a program known as 340B, and ratcheting up scrutiny on pharmacy benefit managers' role in drug pricing. 'We are working to address those things as we agree to disagree on the things that divide us,' Bourla said. He noted that he is against the administration's proposed 40% budget cut for the National Institutes of Health, emphasizing that the US is 'the dominant scientific force in biomedical sciences right now, and it is because we have created this ecosystem,' in which NIH funding supports academic research that can lead to new discoveries picked up by the pharmaceutical industry and made into medicines. 'If we break any link of this chain of this large ecosystem,' Bourla said, 'that's not good for us, and actually, it's a gift to our friends in China.' Bourla also took issue with HHS's actions on Covid-19 vaccines in the past two weeks: saying that the US Food and Drug Administration will change the way it approves updated shots for people who aren't in vulnerable groups and that the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will no longer recommend Covid-19 vaccines to healthy children and pregnant women. In previous years, Covid-19 vaccines had been updated in a similar way to seasonal flu shots, based on evidence that they generate an immune response; clinical trials that are required to show a vaccine's effect in preventing cases of disease are thought to take too long, potentially, to be feasible every season. What's more, the FDA and its advisers had previously deemed the vaccine updates small enough to not change their safety profile. Asked whether Pfizer would be able to run clinical trials quickly enough to make updated vaccines available to everyone, not just those in vulnerable groups, Bourla said, 'You are raising some very real concerns that we have.' Bourla noted that the implications of the Trump administration's changes to US health agency policies aren't entirely clear. But 'the issue is that that is not based on any scientific data. It's just based on a belief.' 'The appropriate process has not been followed; this is not just: the secretary or someone at a high level issues, let's say, a new rule,' he said. 'You need to follow a process which is reviews, experts, professional staff of FDA and all of that.' Dorit Reiss, a professor of law at UC Law San Francisco, suggested that HHS's 'bad administrative procedure' in announcing the updated CDC recommendations 'will be an issue' if they're challenged in court. Would Pfizer consider filing a lawsuit? 'My initial reaction is that I would prefer to find solutions but not create tensions,' Bourla replied. 'But of course, if we feel that we have to, we will.' Overall, the CEO emphasized that he has found the administration willing to engage in discussions, noting that 'we maintain a very, very close relationship' with the White House. 'I can't complain they don't listen to us,' Bourla said.
