Charlotte Allerton was ready for action when the pandemic hit. She led a team of Pfizer scientists to develop Paxlovid as the first oral antiviral treatment for Covid-19.
Allerton, Head of Medicine Design and Chief Scientific Officer of Anti-Infectives at Pfizer, is no stranger to drug breakthroughs. She inspired multiple Pfizer teams to build a pipeline of small-molecule medicines across neuroscience, rare disease, inflammation and immunology, internal medicine, oncology and antivirals.
But the stakes for Paxlovid were huge. Pfizer invested nearly $1.5 billion to support the development and manufacture of the drug. And it paid off. Paxlovid is the preferred treatment for patients with mild-to-moderate Covid-19 at high risk of progression to severe disease. Pfizer shipped more than 52 million courses of Paxlovid to 70 countries, as of March 29, 2023.
Allerton: Tap Your Skills Under Pressure
Allerton didn't pick up the needed skills amid the Covid-19 crisis. She tapped her career-long track record for the Paxlovid project.
The crowning moment for Allerton's discovery team of scientists working on Paxlovid came in December 2021. That's when the FDA granted emergency use authorization of Paxlovid for treating high-risk Covid-19 patients.
The path to success with Paxlovid took quick action and strategy. Early on, Pfizer scientists knew they wanted to make an antiviral that would go after the main protease of SARS-CoV-2 — the coronavirus that causes Covid-19.
To get there, Allerton's team moved quickly as the pandemic took shape in February 2020. They were starting from scratch. So, the first step for Allerton was to set a goal. And it was as bold as it was simple. "Could we identify an oral therapeutic that we could administer to patients outside the hospital and therefore prevents severe disease and hospitalization?" Allerton told Investor's Business Daily.
Make An Impact Like Allerton
The team's results altered the course of the pandemic. Allerton and her team met their goal. And they did it at a record pace: "We identified a target and designed Paxlovid to inhibit the main protease in SARS-CoV-2 safely and progressed it to clinical studies starting in early 2021," she said.
But that was just the first step. Next, Allerton and her team worked with clinical trial investigators to determine whether the drug was safe. And, was it effective killing the virus when administered orally?
"Based on what we saw in 2021, we could keep people out of the hospital," Allerton said. "That led to our emergency FDA approval," a big win for Allerton and her team.
In non-hospitalized adults with Covid-19 and at least one risk factor for progression to severe disease, the oral therapy reduced the risk of hospitalization or death by 89% compared to a placebo when treated within three days of symptom onset, says Pfizer.
Set Records
The development of Paxlovid by Pfizer's team of scientists is already legendary in the industry. Introducing a new drug (from discovery to approval) in the U.S. takes an average of 12 years. Paxlovid went from an idea to a Phase 1 study just 12 months after the program had launched.
But Allerton isn't a one hit wonder. Allerton's medicine design group also developed Cibinqo, an oral, once-daily treatment for atopic dermatitis. Also out of her lab is Lorbrena, a prescription medicine to treat adults with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer, says Allerton.
And Allerton knows how to motivate her team for repeated success.
"My leadership philosophy is we have a large number of very talented colleagues," said Allerton. "My role is to build a platform where they can bring their best in projects they're tackling and unleashing all of their creativity and power that enables us to do that."
Follow Allerton's Template For Breakthroughs
Allerton's leadership philosophy and style align with her template for success.
"We work in research," she said. "The nature of research is some things will be a success and some won't. We have to make sure we make the right decisions quickly. A large part of it is when to know to be resilient and keep researching a molecular compound and testing it in different ways, and when to know when to stop."
Keeping a curious mind about the science and the disease you're treating is another aspect of success. While working on Paxlovid, the team saw the time pressure as an opportunity. That motivated them to push harder.
"There was a strong feeling among all of us this is what we were trained to do," Allerton said. "We had an opportunity to use the skills we have. People were united. The only failure was if we don't try. Every time we pushed through to the next phase we got each other's backs. It wouldn't be right not to try."
Keep A Team On Track Like Allerton
Allerton used leadership skills to instill team sprit in the Paxlovid program.
As a leader, Allerton is "very much about 'how do we make this happen?' on very complex things," said Patrick Verhoest, vice president, internal medicine medicinal chemistry at Pfizer. Verhoest has worked with Allerton for more than 10 years, including on the Paxlovid initiative.
The key to Allerton's success as a scientist and leader, he says, is she is "a good problem solver." Allerton "can put things together and think through complex situations and problems very well and see what needs to be done and simplify it. That's a key skill."
During the Paxlovid program, Allerton aligned researchers, he said. As a result, Pfizer was able to accomplish in less than two years, with no compromise to safety, what usually takes 10-plus years
"She really engaged us to do what we thought was best and provided the space and balance for people to do their jobs," Verhoest said. "Her ability to unite and get everyone moving forward to go in the right direction and providing them with what they needed to step forward was important."
Follow The Business, Too
It's not just science. Allerton worked directly with Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla to get money for the program.
Working at a fast pace on the Paxlovid program had its challenges. Working in a pandemic complicated things further. Colleagues juggled obligations keeping themselves and family safe while caring for the community and stepping up, says Allerton.
"We actually had a team of colleagues working together who never worked together before and didn't have the opportunity to get together face to face," she said. Allerton's team built a virtual community dedicated to this project as well as one on site.
"It was working in a different way than previously that creates some challenges and everyone did an incredible job and learned different ways to work," she said.
Find Your Passion Like Allerton
Allerton's journey to lead medicine design began when she joined Pfizer Medicinal Chemistry in Sandwich, U.K. in 1993. She spent 14 years working across a range of therapeutic areas as a medicinal chemist. Eventually, she moved into leadership positions in pharmacokinetics, dynamics and metabolism.
In 2016 she took on leadership of medicine design.
Allerton, who earned her bachelor's degree from the University of Nottingham and completed her masters at the University of Cambridge, says her interest in science began in her teenage years and evolved from there.
When she was a teenager, she became curious about how medicines work. "I thought 'how were they doing what they needed to do and how were they getting to where they needed to be,'" she said. "What also helped pique my interest was I had a fabulous chemistry teacher. And seeing the impact molecules could have as drug molecules was fascinating."
Charlotte Allerton's Keys
- As team leader of medicine design for the research of Pfizer's Paxlovid, Allerton played the crucial role in the design of the treatment and helping move it into clinical trials.
- Overcame: Challenges of launching new drugs and getting them into clinical development and regulatory approval.
- Lesson: "My leadership philosophy is we have a large number of very talented colleagues. My role is to build a platform where they can bring their best in projects they're tackling and unleashing all of their creativity and power that enables us to do that."
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