I am the former president of Pfizer Global Research, where I led research groups around the globe in finding new medicines to treat cancer, addiction, AIDS, immunological diseases, and pain. After retiring from Pfizer, I have been closely involved with biotech companies that also are seeking breakthrough drugs. This industry is a crucial part of the healthcare ecosystem, as evidenced by the remarkable response and, ultimately, the crushing of the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet, it is not just underappreciated but is treated with scorn by many. This booklist provides sources from which the reader can gain a full understanding of the value of the biopharmaceutical industry, the challenges it faces, and its importance to the world’s health.
I wrote...
Pharma and Profits: Balancing Innovation, Medicine, and Drug Prices
This book clearly explains the value that the pharmaceutical industry brings to society, which is often underreported against the more negative topic of high drug prices. It also offers an overview for drug discovery and development professionals, highlighting the challenges that such drug hunters should be aware of when developing new drugs.
Case studies to illustrate topics like hepatitis C, mRNA vaccines, insulin, and price controls are included to aid in seamless reader appreciation.
The COVID-19 pandemic has been burned into the memory of the world. While millions died as a result of this virus, many more would have died if not for the discovery, development, and deployment of the mRNA vaccines. Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla takes you behind the scenes of the race to find this breakthrough vaccine, detailing the risks undertaken, the challenges that were faced, and the crises that were ultimately overcome to save the world.
I found this riveting account inspiring from both a scientific and leadership perspective.
The exclusive, first-hand, behind-the-scenes story of how Pfizer raced to create the first Covid-19 vaccine, told by Pfizer's CEO Dr. Albert Bourla
A riveting, fast-paced, inside look at one of the most incredible private sector achievements in history, Moonshot recounts the intensive nine months in 2020 when the scientists at Pfizer, under the visionary leadership of Dr. Albert Bourla, made "the impossible possible"-creating, testing, and manufacturing a safe and effective Covid-19 vaccine that previously would have taken years to develop.
Dr. Bourla chronicles how the brilliant, dedicated minds at Pfizer, under the enormous strains of the global pandemic, overcame a…
Legislators and healthcare insurers are seeking ways to slash healthcare costs, often focusing on cutting the costs of medicines through schemes like price controls. Yet, drugs make up only about 13 percent of the money paid on healthcare. This book does a great job of explaining what is behind the pricing of new drugs but, more importantly, shows that all life-saving drugs eventually become low-cost generics – truly a Great American Drug Deal.
This book scrutinizes all players in the healthcare industry and offers new ideas for cost-saving measures, such as closing loopholes, dealing with bad actors, and educating consumers. If you want to understand how best to balance innovation and affordability, this book is a must-read.
Developing life-changing drugs is risky and expensive—but that’s not what makes them unaffordable.Drug pricing is a staple of every news cycle and political debate. And while we’ve struggled for decades to agree on solutions that serve all patients without jeopardizing the invention of new medicines, many Americans suffer because they can’t afford the drugs they need.Do we really have to choose between affordability and innovation?In The Great American Drug Deal, scientist and industry expert Peter Kolchinsky answers this question with a decisive No. The pharmaceutical industry’s commitment to creating new lifesaving drugs destined to become inexpensive generics can be balanced…
How do you put a price on life? That is a question often asked as healthcare providers seek to determine what is a fair price for a new life-saving drug. European governments have come up with a methodology called QALY (“Quality Adjusted Life Year”), which assigns a monetary value to the quality of life and survival length for patients and then assesses the cost-effectiveness of a drug based upon the drug’s potential to both improve a patient’s quality of life and extend that life.
That sounds pretty reasonable. Actually, it isn’t. This book shows that adopting the QALY methodology in the US would be harmful by limiting patient access to breakthrough medicines as well as discouraging investment into the biotech sector by not rewarding innovation.
While policymakers have often expressed sticker shock at the prices of certain therapies to treat life-threatening illnesses and are right to explore options to lower costs of treatment, one methodology they should reject is the Quality Adjusted Life Year (QALY) standard used in the U.K. and elsewhere. QALY assigns a monetary value to the quality of life and survival-length for patients. QALY has generated controversy, including in the U.K., where its use led to delays in the approval of new cancer treatments already widely available in other countries—and meant the deaths of patients waiting for those potentially lifesaving treatments. In…
There are a lot of critics of the biopharmaceutical industry who belittle the contributions of this industry by accusing it of overselling the value of new medicines, underselling safety, and having numerous conflicts of interest with academic researchers.
This book details the importance of collaborations between doctors and industry for the development of new drugs. For anyone involved in pharmaceutical R&D, it is refreshing to read accounts about successful interactions that lead to breakthroughs.
Rather than look at healthcare as “good guys vs. bad guys,” this book gives great examples of partnerships that result in saving lives.
The biopharmaceutical industry needs great young scientists. I often get asked by science majors as to whether they should consider a job in this industry and how to be successful in it. For these folks, I recommend Creating Cures, which is a thoughtful and thorough description of a career that combines doing great science with an eye on the business of developing great new medicines.
Reading this book could help you land the job of a lifetime.
Coming from the perspective of a neurosurgeon, I have witnessed many successes and failures over more than four decades. I recognized decades ago that communication with patients at a level that involves emotions is a necessary part of being a complete physician. This involves being empathetic and, henceforth, digging deep to find the strength to be transparent, vulnerable, compassionate, understanding, and, when needed, forceful (some would call this paternalism). Although the five books I have chosen to highlight vary widely in content, they have one common theme – finding within us the will and wherewithal to succeed.
My book is a collection of monthly Editor-in-Chief letters to the readership of World Neurosurgery, a journal that I edit. Each essay is short and sweet. The letters were written for neurosurgeons but have been re-edited so that they apply to all human beings. They cover topics such as leadership, empathy, vulnerability, stress, burnout, and on and on…. These essays are relevant for all who strive to craft a better version of themselves.
Life lessons learned by the author during his 40+ year neurosurgery career are shared and translated into real-life scenarios. Between the covers are many lessons that are derived from the experiences of the author and then applied to all humans. The mastering of these lessons should translate into a sense of pride and satisfaction. In keeping with the theme of the book, this process should culminate in the feeling at the end of the day that ‘Today was, indeed, a good day.’
Today Was A Good Day: A Collection of Essays From The Heart Of A Neurosurgeon
About the Book Today Was A Good Day: A Collection of Essays From The Heart Of A Neurosurgeon features many topics that pertain to how neurosurgeons interact with others and how each of us can use introspection to modify how we are using tools and strategies such as empathy, respect, stress management, and much more. This book provides some insights into leadership, effective communication, and fulfillment from the perspective of a neurosurgeon, and it causes the reader to think about and consider many, many attributes of a leader. We all want to have a good day. This book provides strategies…
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