PFIZER INC — Call Transcript 2026

Okay, everybody. It is my treat. I'm Rich Handler, CEO of Jefferies, and I get the pleasure of interviewing my good friend, Albert Bourla, CEO of Pfizer. Before we get going, the last time I interviewed Albert, and I was telling you this backstage, it was right in the heat of COVID when no one knew what was going to happen. I had, at the time, I think we had about 5,000 Jefferies employees on the Zoom, and quite honestly, I can't convey to you enough the calming, the sense of hope, the sense of purpose, and the sense of strategy that you gave our firm at that point in time. Before we start, I want to give Albert and his entire company a big round of applause. Give us just a little bit of you growing up and a little bit about your background so people know who you are. It's a pretty interesting background. I'm Greek. I used to say I'm Greek by birth, American by choice. I studied in Greece. I studied veterinary science. I did a PhD. All I wanted was to stay in academia to become a professor. Pfizer in Greece had an animal health group at the time. Now it's Zoetis. They were keen to hire me. They put an offer I couldn't resist. I said that I would go as sabbatical a year or two, and then I will go back to academia. Once I joined Pfizer, I liked so much the energy of the private sector and the entrepreneurship that was matching my personality, that I never looked back. That happened 33 years ago. I moved with my family in five different countries, in 10 different cities, and I work with all the countries of the world. If you were to describe to the layman today, what is Pfizer in your mind? How do you see the company? It's an iconic pharmaceutical company with a tradition that very few have. This year celebrating 177 years of existence. New York company that comes with the competitiveness and drive that New York companies usually have. A company that has developed iconic medicines that changed the paradigm when it comes to treatments, from the cardiovascular to from the Lipitor to the Viagras, I can go on and on. A company that it is, right now, very much purpose driven. All we care is to develop breakthroughs that change patients' lives, and everything else will fall into place, including the stock price. If you're talking about the competitive moats and the competitive advantages that you have right now on a global basis, what are they? Pfizer has capabilities that basically none of the others have to that degree. We have probably the largest manufacturing network in the world, and the capabilities of its network were able to be demonstrated in COVID. I remind people that during COVID, people were impressed that within eight, nine months, we were able to develop a medicine. The most impressive accomplishment, which I know how challenging it was to make, in the first year, three billion doses of a product that we had never manufactured before. The run rate of Pfizer was 200 million doses a year of all the vaccines that we were making. Our manufacturing capabilities are enormous. We are a powerhouse in commercial, and this is not only in the U.S., where we constantly are ranked as the number one primary care field force in the industry constantly, every year after year, by physicians. We have a global presence that no one else has. We have subsidiaries basically everywhere in the world with our own field forces and our own research teams in the world, and we have unparalleled R&D, also, capabilities. You focused the entire energy and passion of Pfizer during COVID successfully. Now your mission on the cancer side, you're taking all of the passion and energy to cancer. What does that mean? How does it look and the breadth of it, the geographics of it, the technology of it, how does that look? You are right to use the word passion. It is really my passion in life to be able to advance significantly. I don't want to say empty words and say, "I want to find the cure before I go," but I want to advance significantly the fight against cancer, and I want to convert most of the cancers into chronic disease so that you can live with your cancer for years rather than receiving a death sentence. Why cancer? One, it is a significant need for humanity. Cancer mobilizes people like nothing else. Secondly, science, when it comes to finding solutions for cancer, it is very mature. We know way more about cancer than, for example, we know about Alzheimer's, or we know about Parkinson's. It's well established. Third, Pfizer had tremendous already capabilities in cancer, probably our most successful division, with small molecules, which was our expertise. Ibrance and ALK inhibitors, I can go on and on. We invested pretty much everything that we made from COVID to buy Seagen, which had and has the largest ADC platform, which is a very big, large molecules platform against cancer. When I put together the need, the fact that the science is really breaking now, and the fact that we are good at doing that was the obvious choice for us, that this is where we go. Any surprises on that acquisition or positive or negative? Yes. So far, it's very positive. The acquisition had four products that were already in the market, but early introductions of them, and had a significant pipeline, 13 different products. Right now we only have the results of the four market products that are doing extremely well. The Padcev, which is the, let's say, the crown jewel of the four and brings the vast majority of the sales, has released data that are transformational. It's changing the lives of bladder cancer patients. When I say change the life, more than double survival, not 10%, not 20%, more than double. Now we are initiating a new study that will be bladder sparing because usually when you have this type of cancer, they remove your bladder, and you have a terrible quality of life because of that. Of course, you will have metastasis that we need to treat with Padcev. Now we try to see if we can demonstrate that you don't need to remove your bladder. We will treat it while it is there. The inline products are doing very well. There is the pipeline that is coming, significant amount of value about it. The first of them, it is a very significant molecule. It's called SV. It is for lung cancer. It has two studies that are ongoing right now. Lung cancer is the biggest killer in terms of cancer deaths. There is nothing else that kills more people like that. In the U.S., 250,000, 260,000 new cases every year diagnosed with lung cancer. It's a very big problem. As a result, it's the biggest market in oncology. The SV, which is a very targeted technology, we are expecting this year, results from a second-line lung cancer treatment, as monotherapy. Alone, SV, against the current standard of care. No one was ever being able to beat the current standard of care in a monotherapy setting. We hope we will. It's riskier than the second one, which is combination therapy, and it is bigger market. The second one is first line, not second line. First line is much bigger the numbers, and we studied in combination with immunomodulator. We'll see how that goes. If this is successful, probably that will become the biggest Seagen product and probably the biggest Pfizer product. There's a lot going on in the biopharma world today, patent cliffs, AI, regulatory change. How do you view the climate right now for potential new acquisitions? If you were looking at the world right now, where would you hope to focus your attention, and where do you hope to see the biotech sector emerge? There are several, let's say, things that are shaping right now the industry. I've never seen a moment in that industry that so rapid change is imminent. The three things, one I think is behind us for the moment but comes back and forth is the pricing, MFN, geopolitical tensions that was an existential threat for us in 2025, and I spent most of my time working this out. You kind of embraced it, right? You went right at it. We drove the industry. Some liked it, some didn't like it. They all did the same. We are 17 companies that they did 17 identical deals with the deal that we opened, and we negotiated basically on behalf of everyone. I truly believe it was a very good deal for the industry. By the way, the investors believe the same because the first two days after the announcement of the Pfizer deal, the pharma went up 15%, 7% and 8% or 7.5% and 7.5%. It was a very good thing. Right now, I think things are calmer because of that. There are two things that are shaping the future. The first is AI. It's changing everything dramatically. It's going to change not only the things that people think, the drug discovery and how we are going to discover new medicines or develop them. That very much so, it's changing our manufacturing. It's changing our commercial model. The role of a rep, the role of a marketer, the role of a medical liaison. The physicians already receiving most of their information, through LLMs rather than through magazines and promotions from the reps. The whole marketing process will change in addition to the whole manufacturing process, to the whole research process. Of course, there will be significant productivity gains because those three things that I said are primarily will drive sales, primarily will drive new products, primarily will drive less batches failed. Also cost will come in the form that you will have a much more efficient finance department, legal department, HR department, all the enabling functions. That's one, AI. We can discuss. While we're on that, how is Pfizer directly being affected by all this? What are you doing internally in that regard? Yes. We are all in. If you see the spectrum of the pharma CEOs in terms of how strong believers they are in AI, there are those that they believe that will have some incremental changes, those that they believe that it's changing everything, and everybody's somewhere in between. I'm much more closer to, I think everything will change. Our basic belief and strategy is that right now, AI cannot do everything. Right now, today, Tuesday, or Wednesday. I think it's Wednesday. All right. Check AI Claude. Yeah. Wednesday. AI can do much more than enterprises are using it for. What is the bottleneck? Why they don't? It is not technological limitations, and it is not to make the right choice if it is Gemini or Claude, if you are going to build your own data center, or if you are going to lease GPUs in Google or Amazon. The key, the secret, it is organizational ability to transform itself into an AI-native organization now that this unique, powerful tool is available. That varies from company to company. Some companies will find it easier. Nobody will find it easy, but some will find it easier to transform themselves than others. The reasons that could inhibit something like that, it is inertia, it is fear of employees about their job, it is the unknown because it is a foreign language to many. It is the fact that so many people are proud for the way that they are doing things because they're extremely good in what they do, and they do it the last 20 years, and they are the number one. Now you tell them you need to change completely how the finance department is structured and how the legal department is structured and how we look patent or litigations. It's happening. Our whole effort, it is on that second one. I don't worry that much if it is Claude or Gemini. I'm having the right people, making sure that we have the right computational power, the right infrastructure, that we are cleaning all our data in the way that will make them AI ready. For me, it is more how the organization will endorse the idea that I'm changing. Not I'm changing by year 2030, I'm changing by year 2027, because the speed with which things are moving is tremendous. That's, for me, the fundamental of the technology now. I will take a caveat. There are some things that AI cannot do yet. Things that predominantly are in the research field. We have significant advancements, but we don't have it yet. We can't predict the right targets with high accuracy, biological targets. We cannot have the right molecules designed the way that we want. We still don't have toxicology in silico, that it is well established. I can go on and on and on. Things that once we do, could save a tremendous amount of time out of the drug development and discovery. For that, our strategy is to work with big players and niche companies to develop the tools. We partner with them. I don't think any tech company alone will be able to develop a good AI model that predicts new compounds, and I don't think any pharma company alone, by hiring engineers, will be able to do it. We need the expertise of the two, and that's our strategy on that second domain. The first one, more or less generic from my perspective, infrastructure, data, and then training of the people, changing the organizational structure. The second one is still to come. Okay, back to the biopharma environment. AI is clearly one. Let's talk about regulatory for a second as one of the things that are changing. Actually, even recently, it's been changing quite a bit. How do you see the changes? Is it going in the right direction? What do we have to make sure we protect, and what needs to be improved? If we speak about the U.S., on the front of significant institutions like the CDC, the FDA, et cetera, I think 2025 was not a good year. We had a setback. I think the White House realized that. I think that they initiated corrective actions. We saw a lot of changes in CDC and in the FDA. We continue seeing. CDC publicly said that it is a wonderful choice, the one that they did. A decent, high ethical scientist that it is highly respected by the other scientists. That's what you need from a director of CDC. You don't need someone that every medical establishment is challenging it. We reach the level that the CDC will make some vaccine recommendations, and then the American Academy of Pediatrics, for the first time ever in the history of this country, will issue their own guidelines because they say, "We don't trust the CDC guidelines." Terrible. This is, I think, very rapidly moving to the right direction. If you could have your choice on things that the regulatory regime would improve going forward, what would they be? Before answering that question because it's highly connected, many are asking, what about China? Yeah. China, it is the area that it is, in addition to AI, the second driver that is shaping this industry. We have a phenomenon of a country that replicated the U.S. success model of building an ecosystem with NIH, universities, venture capital, biotech, big pharmas. This is what the U.S. did in the last two decades and attracted the entire world research basically here. It was happening in Europe before that. Everything came here, and from Japan, most came here, and most Europeans are doing here their research now. China is a very impressive example of a meteoric rise of a nation as a scientific superpower. They are not stealing patents because some people still are in this narrative. Actually, they are adamant in protecting patents. Why? Because they filed way more patents than U.S. companies last year. There is a true revolution that is happening there. It is based on two things. One, it is they are investing in organizations that they operate with half the cost and three, four times the speed. They are investing big amounts. Is that because they've embraced AI faster or because? No, I don't think that the big changes that we see in China is because of AI. Actually, I'm concerned when they will start doing that. How better they could potentially do it for us and going forward. There are multiple reasons, including some regulatory flexibility that they have there. The reality is the people are hungry for success, and they are very driven, and they have set the goals. I've been to universities, and every researcher over there has in front of his computer screen the words CNS. "Cell," "Nature," "Science." These are the three top magazines of the world. The "Cell," the "Science," and the "Nature," that they are obsessed. We publish only there. We publish only there. That's China. They publish only on the highest quality magazines that an article to be accepted goes through the most severe scrutiny from peer groups. They dominate- 70% of the publications in some areas are coming from Chinese authors right now. Is it a mistake for us to try to contain them versus make ourselves better? You're right, and that's the biggest mistake that U.S. bipartisanly is doing. They worry, rightly so. We want to maintain our superiority in the field. The way that they are thinking about it, and they are investing 80% of their resources, and brain power, and time, it is how to slow down China. They should invest 80% of our resources and brain power how to become better than them. That's the only way. It's like if you are in a race and you have win in your life multiple races, so you are used to be the winner, and suddenly for the first time, you feel someone approaching you from the back. What are the two things that you can do? It is to run faster, which is the sensible thing to do, or to think that I'm going to push him to the side. This is what we try to do. Too late. They have scale with critical mass that we won't be able to slow them down. We should not even think about it. We should think how our biotech world will have three times the speed and half the cost to develop things. Now back to the regulatory side of it. If that's the goal and to be the best, what help do you need from the regulators? We need a lot of help from the regulators. That's what I do every time I go to D.C. I speak about reforms that need to happen with Congress, with FDA, with HHS, et cetera. I need to say something. For us to be able to compete with Chinese companies in five years, let's say, when they will develop global players. The way I see it is year 2030, my competition will not be Merck and Lilly, will be Chinese companies. I know that they are coming with half the cost, three times the speed. I don't think government will solve that problem for me. I don't think that we will be able to develop with the intervention or the protectionism of the government, half the cost, three times the speed. We can develop it if we do the right AI development. We can develop it if we do the right transformations. We can develop if we do the changes that we need to do so that we can become better. That's mainly on us. The government, when it keeps bringing. The pricing issue of this industry is killing the industry. It's not helping because who is going to place his money in this industry when there is existential threat, maybe prices in the U.S. will be cut in half? Every time we have this debate, the funding for biotech comes to historical lows and the multiples of the pharmaceutical industry in extreme lows. That needs to stop. That's the help I want from them. The rest, I'll do. I don't want their money. We have enough capital to do the things, and to have the will, and we have the expertise to transform ourselves. Correct me if I'm wrong, I think you just did a recent deal in China with a 15-year maturity, a long term. What drove that? Was it worrying about the U.S. regulatory change or that you liked the product so much you wanted the duration? You mean the Innovent deal with- Yes vepdegestrant? No. What drove that it is that right now the Chinese, because of their very high productivity, they are developing significant medical innovation, new things, new stuff. My passion is to find the cure of cancer, but I am pretty aware it's a very difficult thing because this fucker is very tough. You can't beat it, right? We need to use the resources of all. By finding a company that is very quick and good in some of the things and combine it with our capabilities that are very good in other things, we have better chances to develop the cancer medicine. That's the deal. Back to China for one last question. You've been there twice in the last six months, is that right? Say it again. You've been to China twice? Yes, yes. I've been twice. Who do you meet with? Forget the big meetings with pomp and circumstance. When you're in a small meeting, are you meeting with the CEOs of the pharmaceutical companies? Who are you actually having the conversations with, and what do you talk about? It varies, changes. I always meet the political establishment. If I can, I will meet presidency. It's not that easy to see him, but I have seen him several times. I will see the premier always. I will see other members. Shanghai, Beijing are the most influential right now. You see always the mayor and the party secretaries. You see, let's say, the political world. I meet with a lot of investors there. There are a lot of either Chinese or Singaporean or other type of investors that they have a very good understanding of the China, and I'm closely connected with them. I'm meeting CEOs of companies, particularly if we have advanced deals. For example, the Innovent deal, I went and met with the CEO before we had an agreement, just not even a month ago. Three weeks ago. I think that helped because also when they look at you in the eyes, they feel very different level of trust to conclude the deal. The same is for us. I wanted to see who is the person before we commit years of co-developments. Pretty much you get the feeling. Whenever I can, always I visit my people. It means a lot for them to see the CEO there and to have a lot of people in China. We are very big in China in terms of infrastructure and sales, and we are in e-commerce, we are in direct sales. You name it. We are the biggest name from international companies in China. Okay. I think we're out of time, and we have a hard stop. I want to ask you just one last question, you could answer as quickly or as long as you want. The purpose that you have in your life and the purpose for your company, how are you motivated? What is it about, and how do you feel about your job? I feel very good about my job, and I think very few people have the luxury to work in an industry that doing good, that good means that you are making good for humanity. There is a big misconception that existed for many years and was politically driven, that what is the interest of the patients and the interest of the shareholders when it comes to pharma are fundamentally at odds. The reverse is true. There is no way that any shareholder will make a $1 unless if the company creates dramatically significant value for the patients. Morally, I'm so pleased to know that because what I need to do to serve my fiduciary responsibilities, it is to bring new medicines to patients, which is what I'm very proud of doing. That's how we motivate our people. Very few people, as I said, work in an industry that they can claim that they can do so much good to humanity. Every time a neighbor, unfortunately, tells you that he got the diagnosis of cancer, this is the time that you remember why we need the Pfizers of the world. Great. Albert, thank you so much. On behalf of everybody here, we greatly appreciate you. Thank you very much.

Speaker 2: Okay, everybody. It is my treat. I'm Rich Handler, CEO of Jefferies, and I get the pleasure of interviewing my good friend, Albert Bourla, CEO of Pfizer. Before we get going, the last time I interviewed Albert, and I was telling you this backstage, it was right in the heat of COVID when no one knew what was going to happen. I had, at the time, I think we had about 5,000 Jefferies employees on the Zoom, and quite honestly, I can't convey to you enough the calming, the sense of hope, the sense of purpose, and the sense of strategy that you gave our firm at that point in time. Before we start, I want to give Albert and his entire company a big round of applause. Okay, everybody. okay everybody It is my treat. it is my treat I'm Rich Handler, CEO of Jefferies, and I get the pleasure of interviewing my good friend, Albert Bourla, CEO of Pfizer. i'm rich handler ceo of jefferies and i get the pleasure of interviewing my good friend albert bourla ceo of pfizer Before we get going, the last time I interviewed Albert, and I was telling you this backstage, it was right in the heat of COVID when no one knew what was going to happen. before we get going the last time i interviewed albert and i was telling you this backstage it was right in the heat of covid when no one knew what was going to happen I had, at the time, I think we had about 5,000 Jefferies employees on the Zoom, and quite honestly, I can't convey to you enough the calming, the sense of hope, the sense of purpose, and the sense of strategy that you gave our firm at that point in time. i had at the time i think we had about 5,000 jefferies employees on the zoom and quite honestly i can't convey to you enough the calming the sense of hope the sense of purpose and the sense of strategy that you gave our firm at that point in time Before we start, I want to give Albert and his entire company a big round of applause. before we start i want to give albert and his entire company a big round of applause Give us just a little bit of you growing up and a little bit about your background so people know who you are. It's a pretty interesting background. Give us just a little bit of you growing up and a little bit about your background so people know who you are. give us just a little bit of you growing up and a little bit about your background so people know who you are It's a pretty interesting background. it's a pretty interesting background

Speaker 1: I'm Greek. I used to say I'm Greek by birth, American by choice. I studied in Greece. I studied veterinary science. I did a PhD. All I wanted was to stay in academia to become a professor. Pfizer in Greece had an animal health group at the time. Now it's Zoetis. They were keen to hire me. They put an offer I couldn't resist. I said that I would go as sabbatical a year or two, and then I will go back to academia. Once I joined Pfizer, I liked so much the energy of the private sector and the entrepreneurship that was matching my personality, that I never looked back. That happened 33 years ago. I moved with my family in five different countries, in 10 different cities, and I work with all the countries of the world. I'm Greek. i'm greek I used to say I'm Greek by birth, American by choice. i used to say i'm greek by birth american by choice I studied in Greece. i studied in greece I studied veterinary science. i studied veterinary science I did a PhD. i did a phd All I wanted was to stay in academia to become a professor. all i wanted was to stay in academia to become a professor Pfizer in Greece had an animal health group at the time. pfizer in greece had an animal health group at the time Now it's Zoetis. now it's zoetis They were keen to hire me. they were keen to hire me They put an offer I couldn't resist. they put an offer i couldn't resist I said that I would go as sabbatical a year or two, and then I will go back to academia. i said that i would go as sabbatical a year or two and then i will go back to academia Once I joined Pfizer, I liked so much the energy of the private sector and the entrepreneurship that was matching my personality, that I never looked back. once i joined pfizer i liked so much the energy of the private sector and the entrepreneurship that was matching my personality that i never looked back That happened 33 years ago. that happened 33 years ago I moved with my family in five different countries, in 10 different cities, and I work with all the countries of the world. i moved with my family in five different countries in 10 different cities and i work with all the countries of the world

Speaker 2: If you were to describe to the layman today, what is Pfizer in your mind? How do you see the company? If you were to describe to the layman today, what is Pfizer in your mind? if you were to describe to the layman today what is pfizer in your mind How do you see the company? how do you see the company

Speaker 1: It's an iconic pharmaceutical company with a tradition that very few have. This year celebrating 177 years of existence. New York company that comes with the competitiveness and drive that New York companies usually have. A company that has developed iconic medicines that changed the paradigm when it comes to treatments, from the cardiovascular to from the Lipitor to the Viagras, I can go on and on. A company that it is, right now, very much purpose driven. All we care is to develop breakthroughs that change patients' lives, and everything else will fall into place, including the stock price. It's an iconic pharmaceutical company with a tradition that very few have. it's an iconic pharmaceutical company with a tradition that very few have This year celebrating 177 years of existence. this year celebrating 177 years of existence New York company that comes with the competitiveness and drive that New York companies usually have. new york company that comes with the competitiveness and drive that new york companies usually have A company that has developed iconic medicines that changed the paradigm when it comes to treatments, from the cardiovascular to from the Lipitor to the Viagras, I can go on and on. a company that has developed iconic medicines that changed the paradigm when it comes to treatments from the cardiovascular to from the lipitor to the viagras i can go on and on A company that it is, right now, very much purpose driven. a company that it is right now very much purpose driven All we care is to develop breakthroughs that change patients' lives, and everything else will fall into place, including the stock price. all we care is to develop breakthroughs that change patients' lives and everything else will fall into place including the stock price

Speaker 2: If you're talking about the competitive moats and the competitive advantages that you have right now on a global basis, what are they? If you're talking about the competitive moats and the competitive advantages that you have right now on a global basis, what are they? if you're talking about the competitive moats and the competitive advantages that you have right now on a global basis what are they

Speaker 1: Pfizer has capabilities that basically none of the others have to that degree. We have probably the largest manufacturing network in the world, and the capabilities of its network were able to be demonstrated in COVID. I remind people that during COVID, people were impressed that within eight, nine months, we were able to develop a medicine. The most impressive accomplishment, which I know how challenging it was to make, in the first year, three billion doses of a product that we had never manufactured before. The run rate of Pfizer was 200 million doses a year of all the vaccines that we were making. Our manufacturing capabilities are enormous. We are a powerhouse in commercial, and this is not only in the U.S., where we constantly are ranked as the number one primary care field force in the industry constantly, every year after year, by physicians. Pfizer has capabilities that basically none of the others have to that degree. pfizer has capabilities that basically none of the others have to that degree We have probably the largest manufacturing network in the world, and the capabilities of its network were able to be demonstrated in COVID. we have probably the largest manufacturing network in the world and the capabilities of its network were able to be demonstrated in covid I remind people that during COVID, people were impressed that within eight, nine months, we were able to develop a medicine. i remind people that during covid people were impressed that within eight nine months we were able to develop a medicine The most impressive accomplishment, which I know how challenging it was to make, in the first year, three billion doses of a product that we had never manufactured before. the most impressive accomplishment which i know how challenging it was to make in the first year three billion doses of a product that we had never manufactured before The run rate of Pfizer was 200 million doses a year of all the vaccines that we were making. the run rate of pfizer was 200 million doses a year of all the vaccines that we were making Our manufacturing capabilities are enormous. our manufacturing capabilities are enormous We are a powerhouse in commercial, and this is not only in the U.S., where we constantly are ranked as the number one primary care field force in the industry constantly, every year after year, by physicians. we are a powerhouse in commercial and this is not only in the u.s where we constantly are ranked as the number one primary care field force in the industry constantly every year after year by physicians We have a global presence that no one else has. We have subsidiaries basically everywhere in the world with our own field forces and our own research teams in the world, and we have unparalleled R&D, also, capabilities. We have a global presence that no one else has. we have a global presence that no one else has We have subsidiaries basically everywhere in the world with our own field forces and our own research teams in the world, and we have unparalleled R&D, also, capabilities. we have subsidiaries basically everywhere in the world with our own field forces and our own research teams in the world and we have unparalleled r&d also capabilities

Speaker 2: You focused the entire energy and passion of Pfizer during COVID successfully. Now your mission on the cancer side, you're taking all of the passion and energy to cancer. What does that mean? How does it look and the breadth of it, the geographics of it, the technology of it, how does that look? You focused the entire energy and passion of Pfizer during COVID successfully. you focused the entire energy and passion of pfizer during covid successfully Now your mission on the cancer side, you're taking all of the passion and energy to cancer. now your mission on the cancer side you're taking all of the passion and energy to cancer What does that mean? what does that mean How does it look and the breadth of it, the geographics of it, the technology of it, how does that look? how does it look and the breadth of it the geographics of it the technology of it how does that look

Speaker 1: You are right to use the word passion. It is really my passion in life to be able to advance significantly. I don't want to say empty words and say, "I want to find the cure before I go," but I want to advance significantly the fight against cancer, and I want to convert most of the cancers into chronic disease so that you can live with your cancer for years rather than receiving a death sentence. Why cancer? One, it is a significant need for humanity. Cancer mobilizes people like nothing else. Secondly, science, when it comes to finding solutions for cancer, it is very mature. We know way more about cancer than, for example, we know about Alzheimer's, or we know about Parkinson's. It's well established. Third, Pfizer had tremendous already capabilities in cancer, probably our most successful division, with small molecules, which was our expertise. You are right to use the word passion. you are right to use the word passion It is really my passion in life to be able to advance significantly. it is really my passion in life to be able to advance significantly I don't want to say empty words and say, "I want to find the cure before I go," but I want to advance significantly the fight against cancer, and I want to convert most of the cancers into chronic disease so that you can live with your cancer for years rather than receiving a death sentence. i don't want to say empty words and say "i want to find the cure before i go," but i want to advance significantly the fight against cancer and i want to convert most of the cancers into chronic disease so that you can live with your cancer for years rather than receiving a death sentence Why cancer? why cancer One, it is a significant need for humanity. one it is a significant need for humanity Cancer mobilizes people like nothing else. cancer mobilizes people like nothing else Secondly, science, when it comes to finding solutions for cancer, it is very mature. secondly science when it comes to finding solutions for cancer it is very mature We know way more about cancer than, for example, we know about Alzheimer's, or we know about Parkinson's. we know way more about cancer than for example we know about alzheimer's or we know about parkinson's It's well established. it's well established Third, Pfizer had tremendous already capabilities in cancer, probably our most successful division, with small molecules, which was our expertise. third pfizer had tremendous already capabilities in cancer probably our most successful division with small molecules which was our expertise Ibrance and ALK inhibitors, I can go on and on. We invested pretty much everything that we made from COVID to buy Seagen, which had and has the largest ADC platform, which is a very big, large molecules platform against cancer. When I put together the need, the fact that the science is really breaking now, and the fact that we are good at doing that was the obvious choice for us, that this is where we go. Ibrance and ALK inhibitors, I can go on and on. ibrance and alk inhibitors i can go on and on We invested pretty much everything that we made from COVID to buy Seagen, which had and has the largest ADC platform, which is a very big, large molecules platform against cancer. we invested pretty much everything that we made from covid to buy seagen which had and has the largest adc platform which is a very big large molecules platform against cancer When I put together the need, the fact that the science is really breaking now, and the fact that we are good at doing that was the obvious choice for us, that this is where we go. when i put together the need the fact that the science is really breaking now and the fact that we are good at doing that was the obvious choice for us that this is where we go

Speaker 2: Any surprises on that acquisition or positive or negative? Any surprises on that acquisition or positive or negative? any surprises on that acquisition or positive or negative

Speaker 1: Yes. So far, it's very positive. The acquisition had four products that were already in the market, but early introductions of them, and had a significant pipeline, 13 different products. Right now we only have the results of the four market products that are doing extremely well. The Padcev, which is the, let's say, the crown jewel of the four and brings the vast majority of the sales, has released data that are transformational. It's changing the lives of bladder cancer patients. When I say change the life, more than double survival, not 10%, not 20%, more than double. Now we are initiating a new study that will be bladder sparing because usually when you have this type of cancer, they remove your bladder, and you have a terrible quality of life because of that. Of course, you will have metastasis that we need to treat with Padcev. Yes. yes So far, it's very positive. so far it's very positive The acquisition had four products that were already in the market, but early introductions of them, and had a significant pipeline, 13 different products. the acquisition had four products that were already in the market but early introductions of them and had a significant pipeline 13 different products Right now we only have the results of the four market products that are doing extremely well. right now we only have the results of the four market products that are doing extremely well The Padcev, which is the, let's say, the crown jewel of the four and brings the vast majority of the sales, has released data that are transformational. the padcev which is the let's say the crown jewel of the four and brings the vast majority of the sales has released data that are transformational It's changing the lives of bladder cancer patients. it's changing the lives of bladder cancer patients When I say change the life, more than double survival, not 10%, not 20%, more than double. when i say change the life more than double survival not 10% not 20% more than double Now we are initiating a new study that will be bladder sparing because usually when you have this type of cancer, they remove your bladder, and you have a terrible quality of life because of that. now we are initiating a new study that will be bladder sparing because usually when you have this type of cancer they remove your bladder and you have a terrible quality of life because of that Of course, you will have metastasis that we need to treat with Padcev. of course you will have metastasis that we need to treat with padcev Now we try to see if we can demonstrate that you don't need to remove your bladder. We will treat it while it is there. The inline products are doing very well. There is the pipeline that is coming, significant amount of value about it. The first of them, it is a very significant molecule. It's called SV. It is for lung cancer. It has two studies that are ongoing right now. Lung cancer is the biggest killer in terms of cancer deaths. There is nothing else that kills more people like that. In the U.S., 250,000, 260,000 new cases every year diagnosed with lung cancer. It's a very big problem. As a result, it's the biggest market in oncology. The SV, which is a very targeted technology, we are expecting this year, results from a second-line lung cancer treatment, as monotherapy. Now we try to see if we can demonstrate that you don't need to remove your bladder. now we try to see if we can demonstrate that you don't need to remove your bladder We will treat it while it is there. we will treat it while it is there The inline products are doing very well. the inline products are doing very well There is the pipeline that is coming, significant amount of value about it. there is the pipeline that is coming significant amount of value about it The first of them, it is a very significant molecule. the first of them it is a very significant molecule It's called SV. it's called sv It is for lung cancer. it is for lung cancer It has two studies that are ongoing right now. it has two studies that are ongoing right now Lung cancer is the biggest killer in terms of cancer deaths. lung cancer is the biggest killer in terms of cancer deaths There is nothing else that kills more people like that. there is nothing else that kills more people like that In the U.S., 250,000, 260,000 new cases every year diagnosed with lung cancer. in the u.s 250,000 260,000 new cases every year diagnosed with lung cancer It's a very big problem. it's a very big problem As a result, it's the biggest market in oncology. as a result it's the biggest market in oncology The SV, which is a very targeted technology, we are expecting this year, results from a second-line lung cancer treatment, as monotherapy. the sv which is a very targeted technology we are expecting this year results from a second-line lung cancer treatment as monotherapy Alone, SV, against the current standard of care. No one was ever being able to beat the current standard of care in a monotherapy setting. We hope we will. It's riskier than the second one, which is combination therapy, and it is bigger market. The second one is first line, not second line. First line is much bigger the numbers, and we studied in combination with immunomodulator. We'll see how that goes. If this is successful, probably that will become the biggest Seagen product and probably the biggest Pfizer product. Alone, SV, against the current standard of care. alone sv against the current standard of care No one was ever being able to beat the current standard of care in a monotherapy setting. no one was ever being able to beat the current standard of care in a monotherapy setting We hope we will. we hope we will It's riskier than the second one, which is combination therapy, and it is bigger market. it's riskier than the second one which is combination therapy and it is bigger market The second one is first line, not second line. the second one is first line not second line First line is much bigger the numbers, and we studied in combination with immunomodulator. first line is much bigger the numbers and we studied in combination with immunomodulator We'll see how that goes. we'll see how that goes If this is successful, probably that will become the biggest Seagen product and probably the biggest Pfizer product. if this is successful probably that will become the biggest seagen product and probably the biggest pfizer product

Speaker 2: There's a lot going on in the biopharma world today, patent cliffs, AI, regulatory change. How do you view the climate right now for potential new acquisitions? If you were looking at the world right now, where would you hope to focus your attention, and where do you hope to see the biotech sector emerge? There's a lot going on in the biopharma world today, patent cliffs, AI, regulatory change. there's a lot going on in the biopharma world today patent cliffs ai regulatory change How do you view the climate right now for potential new acquisitions? how do you view the climate right now for potential new acquisitions If you were looking at the world right now, where would you hope to focus your attention, and where do you hope to see the biotech sector emerge? if you were looking at the world right now where would you hope to focus your attention and where do you hope to see the biotech sector emerge

Speaker 1: There are several, let's say, things that are shaping right now the industry. I've never seen a moment in that industry that so rapid change is imminent. The three things, one I think is behind us for the moment but comes back and forth is the pricing, MFN, geopolitical tensions that was an existential threat for us in 2025, and I spent most of my time working this out. There are several, let's say, things that are shaping right now the industry. there are several let's say things that are shaping right now the industry I've never seen a moment in that industry that so rapid change is imminent. i've never seen a moment in that industry that so rapid change is imminent The three things, one I think is behind us for the moment but comes back and forth is the pricing, MFN, geopolitical tensions that was an existential threat for us in 2025, and I spent most of my time working this out. the three things one i think is behind us for the moment but comes back and forth is the pricing mfn geopolitical tensions that was an existential threat for us in 2025 and i spent most of my time working this out

Speaker 2: You kind of embraced it, right? You went right at it. You kind of embraced it, right? you kind of embraced it right You went right at it. you went right at it

Speaker 1: We drove the industry. Some liked it, some didn't like it. They all did the same. We are 17 companies that they did 17 identical deals with the deal that we opened, and we negotiated basically on behalf of everyone. I truly believe it was a very good deal for the industry. By the way, the investors believe the same because the first two days after the announcement of the Pfizer deal, the pharma went up 15%, 7% and 8% or 7.5% and 7.5%. It was a very good thing. Right now, I think things are calmer because of that. There are two things that are shaping the future. The first is AI. It's changing everything dramatically. We drove the industry. we drove the industry Some liked it, some didn't like it. some liked it some didn't like it They all did the same. they all did the same We are 17 companies that they did 17 identical deals with the deal that we opened, and we negotiated basically on behalf of everyone. we are 17 companies that they did 17 identical deals with the deal that we opened and we negotiated basically on behalf of everyone I truly believe it was a very good deal for the industry. i truly believe it was a very good deal for the industry By the way, the investors believe the same because the first two days after the announcement of the Pfizer deal, the pharma went up 15%, 7% and 8% or 7.5% and 7.5%. by the way the investors believe the same because the first two days after the announcement of the pfizer deal the pharma went up 15% 7% and 8% or 7.5% and 7.5% It was a very good thing. it was a very good thing Right now, I think things are calmer because of that. right now i think things are calmer because of that There are two things that are shaping the future. there are two things that are shaping the future The first is AI. the first is ai It's changing everything dramatically. it's changing everything dramatically It's going to change not only the things that people think, the drug discovery and how we are going to discover new medicines or develop them. That very much so, it's changing our manufacturing. It's changing our commercial model. The role of a rep, the role of a marketer, the role of a medical liaison. The physicians already receiving most of their information, through LLMs rather than through magazines and promotions from the reps. The whole marketing process will change in addition to the whole manufacturing process, to the whole research process. Of course, there will be significant productivity gains because those three things that I said are primarily will drive sales, primarily will drive new products, primarily will drive less batches failed. It's going to change not only the things that people think, the drug discovery and how we are going to discover new medicines or develop them. it's going to change not only the things that people think the drug discovery and how we are going to discover new medicines or develop them That very much so, it's changing our manufacturing. that very much so it's changing our manufacturing It's changing our commercial model. it's changing our commercial model The role of a rep, the role of a marketer, the role of a medical liaison. the role of a rep the role of a marketer the role of a medical liaison The physicians already receiving most of their information, through LLMs rather than through magazines and promotions from the reps. the physicians already receiving most of their information through llms rather than through magazines and promotions from the reps The whole marketing process will change in addition to the whole manufacturing process, to the whole research process. the whole marketing process will change in addition to the whole manufacturing process to the whole research process Of course, there will be significant productivity gains because those three things that I said are primarily will drive sales, primarily will drive new products, primarily will drive less batches failed. of course there will be significant productivity gains because those three things that i said are primarily will drive sales primarily will drive new products primarily will drive less batches failed Also cost will come in the form that you will have a much more efficient finance department, legal department, HR department, all the enabling functions. That's one, AI. We can discuss. Also cost will come in the form that you will have a much more efficient finance department, legal department, HR department, all the enabling functions. also cost will come in the form that you will have a much more efficient finance department legal department hr department all the enabling functions That's one, AI. that's one ai We can discuss. we can discuss

Speaker 2: While we're on that, how is Pfizer directly being affected by all this? What are you doing internally in that regard? While we're on that, how is Pfizer directly being affected by all this? while we're on that how is pfizer directly being affected by all this What are you doing internally in that regard? what are you doing internally in that regard

Speaker 1: Yes. We are all in. If you see the spectrum of the pharma CEOs in terms of how strong believers they are in AI, there are those that they believe that will have some incremental changes, those that they believe that it's changing everything, and everybody's somewhere in between. I'm much more closer to, I think everything will change. Our basic belief and strategy is that right now, AI cannot do everything. Right now, today, Tuesday, or Wednesday. Yes. yes We are all in. we are all in If you see the spectrum of the pharma CEOs in terms of how strong believers they are in AI, there are those that they believe that will have some incremental changes, those that they believe that it's changing everything, and everybody's somewhere in between. if you see the spectrum of the pharma ceos in terms of how strong believers they are in ai there are those that they believe that will have some incremental changes those that they believe that it's changing everything and everybody's somewhere in between I'm much more closer to, I think everything will change. i'm much more closer to i think everything will change Our basic belief and strategy is that right now, AI cannot do everything. our basic belief and strategy is that right now ai cannot do everything Right now, today, Tuesday, or Wednesday. right now today tuesday or wednesday

Speaker 2: I think it's Wednesday. I think it's Wednesday. i think it's wednesday

Speaker 1: All right. All right. all right

Speaker 2: Check AI Claude. Check AI Claude. check ai claude

Speaker 1: Yeah. Wednesday. AI can do much more than enterprises are using it for. What is the bottleneck? Why they don't? It is not technological limitations, and it is not to make the right choice if it is Gemini or Claude, if you are going to build your own data center, or if you are going to lease GPUs in Google or Amazon. The key, the secret, it is organizational ability to transform itself into an AI-native organization now that this unique, powerful tool is available. That varies from company to company. Some companies will find it easier. Nobody will find it easy, but some will find it easier to transform themselves than others. The reasons that could inhibit something like that, it is inertia, it is fear of employees about their job, it is the unknown because it is a foreign language to many. Yeah. yeah Wednesday. wednesday AI can do much more than enterprises are using it for. ai can do much more than enterprises are using it for What is the bottleneck? what is the bottleneck Why they don't? why they don't It is not technological limitations, and it is not to make the right choice if it is Gemini or Claude, if you are going to build your own data center, or if you are going to lease GPUs in Google or Amazon. it is not technological limitations and it is not to make the right choice if it is gemini or claude if you are going to build your own data center or if you are going to lease gpus in google or amazon The key, the secret, it is organizational ability to transform itself into an AI-native organization now that this unique, powerful tool is available. the key the secret it is organizational ability to transform itself into an ai-native organization now that this unique powerful tool is available That varies from company to company. that varies from company to company Some companies will find it easier. some companies will find it easier Nobody will find it easy, but some will find it easier to transform themselves than others. nobody will find it easy but some will find it easier to transform themselves than others The reasons that could inhibit something like that, it is inertia, it is fear of employees about their job, it is the unknown because it is a foreign language to many. the reasons that could inhibit something like that it is inertia it is fear of employees about their job it is the unknown because it is a foreign language to many It is the fact that so many people are proud for the way that they are doing things because they're extremely good in what they do, and they do it the last 20 years, and they are the number one. Now you tell them you need to change completely how the finance department is structured and how the legal department is structured and how we look patent or litigations. It's happening. Our whole effort, it is on that second one. I don't worry that much if it is Claude or Gemini. I'm having the right people, making sure that we have the right computational power, the right infrastructure, that we are cleaning all our data in the way that will make them AI ready. For me, it is more how the organization will endorse the idea that I'm changing. It is the fact that so many people are proud for the way that they are doing things because they're extremely good in what they do, and they do it the last 20 years, and they are the number one. it is the fact that so many people are proud for the way that they are doing things because they're extremely good in what they do and they do it the last 20 years and they are the number one Now you tell them you need to change completely how the finance department is structured and how the legal department is structured and how we look patent or litigations. now you tell them you need to change completely how the finance department is structured and how the legal department is structured and how we look patent or litigations It's happening. it's happening Our whole effort, it is on that second one. our whole effort it is on that second one I don't worry that much if it is Claude or Gemini. i don't worry that much if it is claude or gemini I'm having the right people, making sure that we have the right computational power, the right infrastructure, that we are cleaning all our data in the way that will make them AI ready. i'm having the right people making sure that we have the right computational power the right infrastructure that we are cleaning all our data in the way that will make them ai ready For me, it is more how the organization will endorse the idea that I'm changing. for me it is more how the organization will endorse the idea that i'm changing Not I'm changing by year 2030, I'm changing by year 2027, because the speed with which things are moving is tremendous. That's, for me, the fundamental of the technology now. I will take a caveat. There are some things that AI cannot do yet. Things that predominantly are in the research field. We have significant advancements, but we don't have it yet. We can't predict the right targets with high accuracy, biological targets. We cannot have the right molecules designed the way that we want. We still don't have toxicology in silico, that it is well established. I can go on and on and on. Things that once we do, could save a tremendous amount of time out of the drug development and discovery. For that, our strategy is to work with big players and niche companies to develop the tools. We partner with them. Not I'm changing by year 2030, I'm changing by year 2027, because the speed with which things are moving is tremendous. not i'm changing by year 2030 i'm changing by year 2027 because the speed with which things are moving is tremendous That's, for me, the fundamental of the technology now. that's for me the fundamental of the technology now I will take a caveat. i will take a caveat There are some things that AI cannot do yet. there are some things that ai cannot do yet Things that predominantly are in the research field. things that predominantly are in the research field We have significant advancements, but we don't have it yet. we have significant advancements but we don't have it yet We can't predict the right targets with high accuracy, biological targets. we can't predict the right targets with high accuracy biological targets We cannot have the right molecules designed the way that we want. we cannot have the right molecules designed the way that we want We still don't have toxicology in silico, that it is well established. we still don't have toxicology in silico that it is well established I can go on and on and on. i can go on and on and on Things that once we do, could save a tremendous amount of time out of the drug development and discovery. things that once we do could save a tremendous amount of time out of the drug development and discovery For that, our strategy is to work with big players and niche companies to develop the tools. for that our strategy is to work with big players and niche companies to develop the tools We partner with them. we partner with them I don't think any tech company alone will be able to develop a good AI model that predicts new compounds, and I don't think any pharma company alone, by hiring engineers, will be able to do it. We need the expertise of the two, and that's our strategy on that second domain. The first one, more or less generic from my perspective, infrastructure, data, and then training of the people, changing the organizational structure. The second one is still to come. I don't think any tech company alone will be able to develop a good AI model that predicts new compounds, and I don't think any pharma company alone, by hiring engineers, will be able to do it. i don't think any tech company alone will be able to develop a good ai model that predicts new compounds and i don't think any pharma company alone by hiring engineers will be able to do it We need the expertise of the two, and that's our strategy on that second domain. we need the expertise of the two and that's our strategy on that second domain The first one, more or less generic from my perspective, infrastructure, data, and then training of the people, changing the organizational structure. the first one more or less generic from my perspective infrastructure data and then training of the people changing the organizational structure The second one is still to come. the second one is still to come

Speaker 2: Okay, back to the biopharma environment. AI is clearly one. Let's talk about regulatory for a second as one of the things that are changing. Actually, even recently, it's been changing quite a bit. How do you see the changes? Is it going in the right direction? What do we have to make sure we protect, and what needs to be improved? Okay, back to the biopharma environment. okay back to the biopharma environment AI is clearly one. ai is clearly one Let's talk about regulatory for a second as one of the things that are changing. let's talk about regulatory for a second as one of the things that are changing Actually, even recently, it's been changing quite a bit. actually even recently it's been changing quite a bit How do you see the changes? how do you see the changes Is it going in the right direction? is it going in the right direction What do we have to make sure we protect, and what needs to be improved? what do we have to make sure we protect and what needs to be improved

Speaker 1: If we speak about the U.S., on the front of significant institutions like the CDC, the FDA, et cetera, I think 2025 was not a good year. We had a setback. I think the White House realized that. I think that they initiated corrective actions. We saw a lot of changes in CDC and in the FDA. We continue seeing. CDC publicly said that it is a wonderful choice, the one that they did. A decent, high ethical scientist that it is highly respected by the other scientists. That's what you need from a director of CDC. You don't need someone that every medical establishment is challenging it. If we speak about the U.S., on the front of significant institutions like the CDC, the FDA, et cetera, I think 2025 was not a good year. if we speak about the u.s on the front of significant institutions like the cdc the fda et cetera i think 2025 was not a good year We had a setback. we had a setback I think the White House realized that. i think the white house realized that I think that they initiated corrective actions. i think that they initiated corrective actions We saw a lot of changes in CDC and in the FDA. we saw a lot of changes in cdc and in the fda We continue seeing. we continue seeing CDC publicly said that it is a wonderful choice, the one that they did. cdc publicly said that it is a wonderful choice the one that they did A decent, high ethical scientist that it is highly respected by the other scientists. a decent high ethical scientist that it is highly respected by the other scientists That's what you need from a director of CDC. that's what you need from a director of cdc You don't need someone that every medical establishment is challenging it. you don't need someone that every medical establishment is challenging it We reach the level that the CDC will make some vaccine recommendations, and then the American Academy of Pediatrics, for the first time ever in the history of this country, will issue their own guidelines because they say, "We don't trust the CDC guidelines." Terrible. This is, I think, very rapidly moving to the right direction. We reach the level that the CDC will make some vaccine recommendations, and then the American Academy of Pediatrics, for the first time ever in the history of this country, will issue their own guidelines because they say, "We don't trust the CDC guidelines." Terrible. we reach the level that the cdc will make some vaccine recommendations and then the american academy of pediatrics for the first time ever in the history of this country will issue their own guidelines because they say "we don't trust the cdc guidelines." terrible This is, I think, very rapidly moving to the right direction. this is i think very rapidly moving to the right direction

Speaker 2: If you could have your choice on things that the regulatory regime would improve going forward, what would they be? If you could have your choice on things that the regulatory regime would improve going forward, what would they be? if you could have your choice on things that the regulatory regime would improve going forward what would they be

Speaker 1: Before answering that question because it's highly connected, many are asking, what about China? Before answering that question because it's highly connected, many are asking, what about China? before answering that question because it's highly connected many are asking what about china

Speaker 2: Yeah. Yeah. yeah

Speaker 1: China, it is the area that it is, in addition to AI, the second driver that is shaping this industry. We have a phenomenon of a country that replicated the U.S. success model of building an ecosystem with NIH, universities, venture capital, biotech, big pharmas. This is what the U.S. did in the last two decades and attracted the entire world research basically here. It was happening in Europe before that. Everything came here, and from Japan, most came here, and most Europeans are doing here their research now. China is a very impressive example of a meteoric rise of a nation as a scientific superpower. They are not stealing patents because some people still are in this narrative. Actually, they are adamant in protecting patents. Why? Because they filed way more patents than U.S. companies last year. China, it is the area that it is, in addition to AI, the second driver that is shaping this industry. china it is the area that it is in addition to ai the second driver that is shaping this industry We have a phenomenon of a country that replicated the U.S. success model of building an ecosystem with NIH, universities, venture capital, biotech, big pharmas. we have a phenomenon of a country that replicated the u.s success model of building an ecosystem with nih universities venture capital biotech big pharmas This is what the U.S. did in the last two decades and attracted the entire world research basically here. this is what the u.s did in the last two decades and attracted the entire world research basically here It was happening in Europe before that. it was happening in europe before that Everything came here, and from Japan, most came here, and most Europeans are doing here their research now. everything came here and from japan most came here and most europeans are doing here their research now China is a very impressive example of a meteoric rise of a nation as a scientific superpower. china is a very impressive example of a meteoric rise of a nation as a scientific superpower They are not stealing patents because some people still are in this narrative. they are not stealing patents because some people still are in this narrative Actually, they are adamant in protecting patents. actually they are adamant in protecting patents Why? why Because they filed way more patents than U.S. companies last year. because they filed way more patents than u.s companies last year There is a true revolution that is happening there. It is based on two things. One, it is they are investing in organizations that they operate with half the cost and three, four times the speed. They are investing big amounts. There is a true revolution that is happening there. there is a true revolution that is happening there It is based on two things. it is based on two things One, it is they are investing in organizations that they operate with half the cost and three, four times the speed. one it is they are investing in organizations that they operate with half the cost and three four times the speed They are investing big amounts. they are investing big amounts

Speaker 2: Is that because they've embraced AI faster or because? Is that because they've embraced AI faster or because? is that because they've embraced ai faster or because

Speaker 1: No, I don't think that the big changes that we see in China is because of AI. Actually, I'm concerned when they will start doing that. How better they could potentially do it for us and going forward. There are multiple reasons, including some regulatory flexibility that they have there. The reality is the people are hungry for success, and they are very driven, and they have set the goals. I've been to universities, and every researcher over there has in front of his computer screen the words CNS. "Cell," "Nature," "Science." These are the three top magazines of the world. The "Cell," the "Science," and the "Nature," that they are obsessed. We publish only there. We publish only there. That's China. They publish only on the highest quality magazines that an article to be accepted goes through the most severe scrutiny from peer groups. They dominate- No, I don't think that the big changes that we see in China is because of AI. no i don't think that the big changes that we see in china is because of ai Actually, I'm concerned when they will start doing that. actually i'm concerned when they will start doing that How better they could potentially do it for us and going forward. how better they could potentially do it for us and going forward There are multiple reasons, including some regulatory flexibility that they have there. there are multiple reasons including some regulatory flexibility that they have there The reality is the people are hungry for success, and they are very driven, and they have set the goals. the reality is the people are hungry for success and they are very driven and they have set the goals I've been to universities, and every researcher over there has in front of his computer screen the words CNS. "Cell," "Nature," "Science." These are the three top magazines of the world. i've been to universities and every researcher over there has in front of his computer screen the words cns "cell," "nature," "science." these are the three top magazines of the world The "Cell," the "Science," and the "Nature," that they are obsessed. the "cell," the "science," and the "nature," that they are obsessed We publish only there. we publish only there We publish only there. we publish only there That's China. that's china They publish only on the highest quality magazines that an article to be accepted goes through the most severe scrutiny from peer groups. they publish only on the highest quality magazines that an article to be accepted goes through the most severe scrutiny from peer groups They dominate- they dominate- 70% of the publications in some areas are coming from Chinese authors right now. 70% of the publications in some areas are coming from Chinese authors right now. 70% of the publications in some areas are coming from chinese authors right now

Speaker 2: Is it a mistake for us to try to contain them versus make ourselves better? Is it a mistake for us to try to contain them versus make ourselves better? is it a mistake for us to try to contain them versus make ourselves better

Speaker 1: You're right, and that's the biggest mistake that U.S. bipartisanly is doing. They worry, rightly so. We want to maintain our superiority in the field. The way that they are thinking about it, and they are investing 80% of their resources, and brain power, and time, it is how to slow down China. They should invest 80% of our resources and brain power how to become better than them. That's the only way. It's like if you are in a race and you have win in your life multiple races, so you are used to be the winner, and suddenly for the first time, you feel someone approaching you from the back. What are the two things that you can do? It is to run faster, which is the sensible thing to do, or to think that I'm going to push him to the side. You're right, and that's the biggest mistake that U.S. bipartisanly is doing. you're right and that's the biggest mistake that u.s bipartisanly is doing They worry, rightly so. they worry rightly so We want to maintain our superiority in the field. we want to maintain our superiority in the field The way that they are thinking about it, and they are investing 80% of their resources, and brain power, and time, it is how to slow down China. the way that they are thinking about it and they are investing 80% of their resources and brain power and time it is how to slow down china They should invest 80% of our resources and brain power how to become better than them. they should invest 80% of our resources and brain power how to become better than them That's the only way. that's the only way It's like if you are in a race and you have win in your life multiple races, so you are used to be the winner, and suddenly for the first time, you feel someone approaching you from the back. it's like if you are in a race and you have win in your life multiple races so you are used to be the winner and suddenly for the first time you feel someone approaching you from the back What are the two things that you can do? what are the two things that you can do It is to run faster, which is the sensible thing to do, or to think that I'm going to push him to the side. it is to run faster which is the sensible thing to do or to think that i'm going to push him to the side This is what we try to do. Too late. They have scale with critical mass that we won't be able to slow them down. We should not even think about it. We should think how our biotech world will have three times the speed and half the cost to develop things. This is what we try to do. this is what we try to do Too late. too late They have scale with critical mass that we won't be able to slow them down. they have scale with critical mass that we won't be able to slow them down We should not even think about it. we should not even think about it We should think how our biotech world will have three times the speed and half the cost to develop things. we should think how our biotech world will have three times the speed and half the cost to develop things

Speaker 2: Now back to the regulatory side of it. If that's the goal and to be the best, what help do you need from the regulators? Now back to the regulatory side of it. now back to the regulatory side of it If that's the goal and to be the best, what help do you need from the regulators? if that's the goal and to be the best what help do you need from the regulators

Speaker 1: We need a lot of help from the regulators. That's what I do every time I go to D.C. I speak about reforms that need to happen with Congress, with FDA, with HHS, et cetera. I need to say something. For us to be able to compete with Chinese companies in five years, let's say, when they will develop global players. The way I see it is year 2030, my competition will not be Merck and Lilly, will be Chinese companies. I know that they are coming with half the cost, three times the speed. I don't think government will solve that problem for me. I don't think that we will be able to develop with the intervention or the protectionism of the government, half the cost, three times the speed. We can develop it if we do the right AI development. We need a lot of help from the regulators. we need a lot of help from the regulators That's what I do every time I go to D.C. that's what i do every time i go to d.c I speak about reforms that need to happen with Congress, with FDA, with HHS, et cetera. i speak about reforms that need to happen with congress with fda with hhs et cetera I need to say something. i need to say something For us to be able to compete with Chinese companies in five years, let's say, when they will develop global players. for us to be able to compete with chinese companies in five years let's say when they will develop global players The way I see it is year 2030, my competition will not be Merck and Lilly, will be Chinese companies. the way i see it is year 2030 my competition will not be merck and lilly will be chinese companies I know that they are coming with half the cost, three times the speed. i know that they are coming with half the cost three times the speed I don't think government will solve that problem for me. i don't think government will solve that problem for me I don't think that we will be able to develop with the intervention or the protectionism of the government, half the cost, three times the speed. i don't think that we will be able to develop with the intervention or the protectionism of the government half the cost three times the speed We can develop it if we do the right AI development. we can develop it if we do the right ai development We can develop it if we do the right transformations. We can develop if we do the changes that we need to do so that we can become better. That's mainly on us. The government, when it keeps bringing. The pricing issue of this industry is killing the industry. It's not helping because who is going to place his money in this industry when there is existential threat, maybe prices in the U.S. will be cut in half? Every time we have this debate, the funding for biotech comes to historical lows and the multiples of the pharmaceutical industry in extreme lows. That needs to stop. That's the help I want from them. The rest, I'll do. I don't want their money. We have enough capital to do the things, and to have the will, and we have the expertise to transform ourselves. We can develop it if we do the right transformations. we can develop it if we do the right transformations We can develop if we do the changes that we need to do so that we can become better. we can develop if we do the changes that we need to do so that we can become better That's mainly on us. that's mainly on us The government, when it keeps bringing. The pricing issue of this industry is killing the industry. the government when it keeps bringing. the pricing issue of this industry is killing the industry It's not helping because who is going to place his money in this industry when there is existential threat, maybe prices in the U.S. will be cut in half? it's not helping because who is going to place his money in this industry when there is existential threat maybe prices in the u.s will be cut in half Every time we have this debate, the funding for biotech comes to historical lows and the multiples of the pharmaceutical industry in extreme lows. every time we have this debate the funding for biotech comes to historical lows and the multiples of the pharmaceutical industry in extreme lows That needs to stop. that needs to stop That's the help I want from them. that's the help i want from them The rest, I'll do. the rest i'll do I don't want their money. i don't want their money We have enough capital to do the things, and to have the will, and we have the expertise to transform ourselves. we have enough capital to do the things and to have the will and we have the expertise to transform ourselves

Speaker 2: Correct me if I'm wrong, I think you just did a recent deal in China with a 15-year maturity, a long term. What drove that? Was it worrying about the U.S. regulatory change or that you liked the product so much you wanted the duration? Correct me if I'm wrong, I think you just did a recent deal in China with a 15-year maturity, a long term. correct me if i'm wrong i think you just did a recent deal in china with a 15-year maturity a long term What drove that? what drove that Was it worrying about the U.S. regulatory change or that you liked the product so much you wanted the duration? was it worrying about the u.s regulatory change or that you liked the product so much you wanted the duration

Speaker 1: You mean the Innovent deal with- You mean the Innovent deal with- you mean the innovent deal with-

Speaker 2: Yes Yes yes

Speaker 1: vepdegestrant? No. What drove that it is that right now the Chinese, because of their very high productivity, they are developing significant medical innovation, new things, new stuff. My passion is to find the cure of cancer, but I am pretty aware it's a very difficult thing because this fucker is very tough. You can't beat it, right? We need to use the resources of all. By finding a company that is very quick and good in some of the things and combine it with our capabilities that are very good in other things, we have better chances to develop the cancer medicine. That's the deal. vepdegestrant? vepdegestrant No. no What drove that it is that right now the Chinese, because of their very high productivity, they are developing significant medical innovation, new things, new stuff. what drove that it is that right now the chinese because of their very high productivity they are developing significant medical innovation new things new stuff My passion is to find the cure of cancer, but I am pretty aware it's a very difficult thing because this fucker is very tough. my passion is to find the cure of cancer but i am pretty aware it's a very difficult thing because this fucker is very tough You can't beat it, right? you can't beat it right We need to use the resources of all. we need to use the resources of all By finding a company that is very quick and good in some of the things and combine it with our capabilities that are very good in other things, we have better chances to develop the cancer medicine. by finding a company that is very quick and good in some of the things and combine it with our capabilities that are very good in other things we have better chances to develop the cancer medicine That's the deal. that's the deal

Speaker 2: Back to China for one last question. You've been there twice in the last six months, is that right? Back to China for one last question. back to china for one last question You've been there twice in the last six months, is that right? you've been there twice in the last six months is that right

Speaker 1: Say it again. Say it again. say it again

Speaker 2: You've been to China twice? You've been to China twice? you've been to china twice

Speaker 1: Yes, yes. I've been twice. Yes, yes. yes yes I've been twice. i've been twice

Speaker 2: Who do you meet with? Forget the big meetings with pomp and circumstance. When you're in a small meeting, are you meeting with the CEOs of the pharmaceutical companies? Who are you actually having the conversations with, and what do you talk about? Who do you meet with? who do you meet with Forget the big meetings with pomp and circumstance. forget the big meetings with pomp and circumstance When you're in a small meeting, are you meeting with the CEOs of the pharmaceutical companies? when you're in a small meeting are you meeting with the ceos of the pharmaceutical companies Who are you actually having the conversations with, and what do you talk about? who are you actually having the conversations with and what do you talk about

Speaker 1: It varies, changes. I always meet the political establishment. If I can, I will meet presidency. It's not that easy to see him, but I have seen him several times. I will see the premier always. I will see other members. Shanghai, Beijing are the most influential right now. You see always the mayor and the party secretaries. You see, let's say, the political world. I meet with a lot of investors there. There are a lot of either Chinese or Singaporean or other type of investors that they have a very good understanding of the China, and I'm closely connected with them. I'm meeting CEOs of companies, particularly if we have advanced deals. For example, the Innovent deal, I went and met with the CEO before we had an agreement, just not even a month ago. Three weeks ago. It varies, changes. it varies changes I always meet the political establishment. i always meet the political establishment If I can, I will meet presidency. if i can i will meet presidency It's not that easy to see him, but I have seen him several times. it's not that easy to see him but i have seen him several times I will see the premier always. i will see the premier always I will see other members. i will see other members Shanghai, Beijing are the most influential right now. shanghai beijing are the most influential right now You see always the mayor and the party secretaries. you see always the mayor and the party secretaries You see, let's say, the political world. you see let's say the political world I meet with a lot of investors there. i meet with a lot of investors there There are a lot of either Chinese or Singaporean or other type of investors that they have a very good understanding of the China, and I'm closely connected with them. there are a lot of either chinese or singaporean or other type of investors that they have a very good understanding of the china and i'm closely connected with them I'm meeting CEOs of companies, particularly if we have advanced deals. i'm meeting ceos of companies particularly if we have advanced deals For example, the Innovent deal, I went and met with the CEO before we had an agreement, just not even a month ago. for example the innovent deal i went and met with the ceo before we had an agreement just not even a month ago Three weeks ago. three weeks ago I think that helped because also when they look at you in the eyes, they feel very different level of trust to conclude the deal. The same is for us. I wanted to see who is the person before we commit years of co-developments. Pretty much you get the feeling. Whenever I can, always I visit my people. It means a lot for them to see the CEO there and to have a lot of people in China. We are very big in China in terms of infrastructure and sales, and we are in e-commerce, we are in direct sales. You name it. We are the biggest name from international companies in China. I think that helped because also when they look at you in the eyes, they feel very different level of trust to conclude the deal. i think that helped because also when they look at you in the eyes they feel very different level of trust to conclude the deal The same is for us. the same is for us I wanted to see who is the person before we commit years of co-developments. i wanted to see who is the person before we commit years of co-developments Pretty much you get the feeling. pretty much you get the feeling Whenever I can, always I visit my people. whenever i can always i visit my people It means a lot for them to see the CEO there and to have a lot of people in China. it means a lot for them to see the ceo there and to have a lot of people in china We are very big in China in terms of infrastructure and sales, and we are in e-commerce, we are in direct sales. we are very big in china in terms of infrastructure and sales and we are in e-commerce we are in direct sales You name it. you name it We are the biggest name from international companies in China. we are the biggest name from international companies in china

Speaker 2: Okay. I think we're out of time, and we have a hard stop. I want to ask you just one last question, you could answer as quickly or as long as you want. The purpose that you have in your life and the purpose for your company, how are you motivated? What is it about, and how do you feel about your job? Okay. okay I think we're out of time, and we have a hard stop. i think we're out of time and we have a hard stop I want to ask you just one last question, you could answer as quickly or as long as you want. i want to ask you just one last question you could answer as quickly or as long as you want The purpose that you have in your life and the purpose for your company, how are you motivated? the purpose that you have in your life and the purpose for your company how are you motivated What is it about, and how do you feel about your job? what is it about and how do you feel about your job

Speaker 1: I feel very good about my job, and I think very few people have the luxury to work in an industry that doing good, that good means that you are making good for humanity. There is a big misconception that existed for many years and was politically driven, that what is the interest of the patients and the interest of the shareholders when it comes to pharma are fundamentally at odds. The reverse is true. There is no way that any shareholder will make a $1 unless if the company creates dramatically significant value for the patients. Morally, I'm so pleased to know that because what I need to do to serve my fiduciary responsibilities, it is to bring new medicines to patients, which is what I'm very proud of doing. That's how we motivate our people. I feel very good about my job, and I think very few people have the luxury to work in an industry that doing good, that good means that you are making good for humanity. i feel very good about my job and i think very few people have the luxury to work in an industry that doing good that good means that you are making good for humanity There is a big misconception that existed for many years and was politically driven, that what is the interest of the patients and the interest of the shareholders when it comes to pharma are fundamentally at odds. there is a big misconception that existed for many years and was politically driven that what is the interest of the patients and the interest of the shareholders when it comes to pharma are fundamentally at odds The reverse is true. the reverse is true There is no way that any shareholder will make a $1 unless if the company creates dramatically significant value for the patients. there is no way that any shareholder will make a $1 unless if the company creates dramatically significant value for the patients Morally, I'm so pleased to know that because what I need to do to serve my fiduciary responsibilities, it is to bring new medicines to patients, which is what I'm very proud of doing. morally i'm so pleased to know that because what i need to do to serve my fiduciary responsibilities it is to bring new medicines to patients which is what i'm very proud of doing That's how we motivate our people. that's how we motivate our people Very few people, as I said, work in an industry that they can claim that they can do so much good to humanity. Every time a neighbor, unfortunately, tells you that he got the diagnosis of cancer, this is the time that you remember why we need the Pfizers of the world. Very few people, as I said, work in an industry that they can claim that they can do so much good to humanity. very few people as i said work in an industry that they can claim that they can do so much good to humanity Every time a neighbor, unfortunately, tells you that he got the diagnosis of cancer, this is the time that you remember why we need the Pfizers of the world. every time a neighbor unfortunately tells you that he got the diagnosis of cancer this is the time that you remember why we need the pfizers of the world

Speaker 2: Great. Albert, thank you so much. On behalf of everybody here, we greatly appreciate you. Great. great Albert, thank you so much. albert thank you so much On behalf of everybody here, we greatly appreciate you. on behalf of everybody here we greatly appreciate you

Speaker 1: Thank you very much. Thank you very much. thank you very much